Jake Paul‘s first match in the ring with a true boxer has handed him did not go as he might have expected. Tommy Fury hands the YouTuber-turned-boxer his first loss on Sunday night at the Diriyah Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. In an eight-round bout, the two rivals went head-to-head all the way to the end, with Fury coming away with a split-decision win.
Despite being knocked down in the final round, Fury had the judges on his side, as they scored the fight 76-73 twice for Fury and 75-74 just once for Paul. Immediately after the fight, Paul made it very clear that he disagreed with the judges and that although it was a great match, he will be demanding a rematch, “All respect to Tommy. He won. Don’t judge me by my wins, judge me by losses. I’ll come back. I think we deserve that rematch.” Calling it a “close fight,” Paul also said, “But I lost. I’m not making excuses. I’m just saying it wasn’t my best performance. I fell flat.” He shared with the crowd that he “got sick” and “injured [his] arm,” pinpointing those issues as the main reasons why he did not do as well as he could have.
Fury responded in his post-win interview and appears to be ready to come back stronger for the rematch. Paul’s eighth-round knockdown caused a buzz amongst the crowd and boxing fans watching all across the world. While Paul did bounce back and made his move after a slow seventh round, he came out early with a left jab that sent Fury stumbling back and down onto the mat for a brief moment. This was the first and only knockdown of the bout. Landing some great punches on his own, Paul gained his footing despite Fury having a slight edge for most of the fight. Both boxers had a point deducted in the later rounds for landing punches on the back of each other’s heads. Fury responded to the eighth-round jab, “That wasn’t a knockdown, that was a slip. That was genuinely a slip. I got up…I came right back into it.” Fury, unfazed by the hit, got right back up to close out the fight, landing several blows to keep his advantage up. In the fight, Fury threw twice as many fights than Paul did. In the post-fight interview, Fury shared an emotional speech,
“All the way through these 2.5 years, I had a dream, I had a vision that I would win this fight, and no one believed me. Now I can stand up and everybody can take note. In my first main event, at 23 years old, I had the world on me. I had pressure on my shoulders, and I came through.”
The Truth is revealed! Tommy Fury gets the decision win over Jake Paul! ?#PaulFury pic.twitter.com/YZIiNqtB8P
— Boxing on BT Sport ? (@BTSportBoxing) February 26, 2023
Gracious in victory, humble in defeat ?
Jake Paul wants to run it back with Tommy Fury ?#PaulFury pic.twitter.com/iLZTqvwtCt
— Boxing on BT Sport ? (@BTSportBoxing) February 26, 2023
RAW EMOTION ?
Tommy Fury delivered a powerful post-fight speech and agrees to a rematch with Jake Paul ?#PaulFury pic.twitter.com/xviteOiEL2
— Boxing on BT Sport ? (@BTSportBoxing) February 26, 2023
Tommy Fury is the first boxer to defeat Jake Paul ? #PaulFury pic.twitter.com/o3GFsOr4hp
— ESPN Ringside (@ESPNRingside) February 26, 2023
“HEY DRAKEYYYYY WE’RE BOTH LOSERS!!!!!!”@Tyson_Fury coming through with some unreal content after Tommy’s win ?#PaulFury pic.twitter.com/PzP3W2Gvg2
— Boxing on BT Sport ? (@BTSportBoxing) February 27, 2023
Tommy Fury is the first boxer to defeat Jake Paul ? #PaulFury pic.twitter.com/o3GFsOr4hp
— ESPN Ringside (@ESPNRingside) February 26, 2023
TOMMY FURY REMAINS UNDEFEATED AFTER BEATING JAKE PAUL ? #PAULFURY pic.twitter.com/F0wz9rxcpx
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) February 26, 2023
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