On Sunday in Saudi Arabia, famed YouTuber turned fighter Jake Paul was defeated by Tommy Fury, half-brother of WBC Heavyweight Champion Tyson Fury, via split decision. The judges scored the eight-round bout 76-73, 76-73, and 74-75.
Paul opened as a -200 favorite over Fury, but the line progressively fell to roughly -140 as reports surfaced of a strong camp showing by Fury leading up to the fight. In post-fight interviews, Paul played off that he was fighting through an arm injury and illness throughout his training camp, which quickly drew the ire of the crowd. Nonetheless, Paul spoke that he would take it on the chin and be back.
Fury landed 33 more punches and threw 302 to Paul’s 157. Fury cruised through the first seven rounds, but Paul made things interesting in the final round, where he knocked Fury to the canvas. Paul has a rematch clause that it appears he will enact once the dust settles.
Fury-Paul was a long time coming as it was initially scheduled for December 2021 but was postponed due to an injury sustained by Fury. Again, Fury had to pull out of the rescheduled date in August 2022 due to travel issues which created a ton of animosity and social media buzz between the two. Post-fight, Fury spoke about the emotions of the victory after two years of struggles leading up to the eventual bout.
“Tonight, I made my own legacy. I am Tommy Fury.”
