The build up to the Jake Paul vs. Tommy Fury bout lived up to the hype with the 8-round cruiserweight bout fought at a high pace. This was the first time Paul (6-1, 4 KOs) faced a real boxer and he came up short losing via split decision to Fury (9-0, 4 KOs).
The fight took place Diriyah Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and was broadcast on Top Rank on ESPN, in association with MVP promotions.
Paul, 26, was criticized as a gimmick who cherry picked his opponents mostly fighting other YouTube stars, former basketball players, and washed up aging UFC fighters over the age of 35, but on Sunday night in Saudi Arabia he faced off against a well trained and much younger foe and lost in a close competitive bout.
Fury, 23, is three years younger than Paul and has more boxing experience. He was trained by his father John and learned from being in training camps with his brother undefeated WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury.
The Fury family were so confident that Tommy would win they made bold claims that if he lost to Jake Paul he should retire. They were right Tommy showed he was more polished and had better stamina in the fight.
Paul fought at the lowest weight in his career and looked flat physically at 185 pounds. The fight started fast with Fury going after Paul early a lot of grappling was involved and the referee deducted a point from Paul for hitting behind the head and a point from Fury for holding.
In round eight Paul dropped Fury with a stiff jab only for Fury to pop up quickly and argue with the referee telling him it was a slip, but the referee ruled it a knockdown.
After the fight the official scorecards were 75-74 for Paul, 76-73 and 76-73 for Fury. Tommy Fury was declared the winner by decision.
In the post fight interviews Tommy Fury was happy and relieved dedicated the win to his newborn daughter Bambi and celebrated the win as if it was the biggest moment in his young boxing career. Paul told the crowd that he would exercise his rematch clause and comeback stronger stating his camp didn’t go as smooth as planned, he was sick and had injuries heading into the fight.
