Tommy Fury handed Jake Paul his first “L” in a boxing ring, winning a split decision over eight rounds today in Saudi Arabia.
Two judges had the fight 76-73 for Fury, with the third card 75-74 in Paul’s favor. Bad Left Hook’s unofficial score was 75-74 for Paul, but this was no robbery, simply a pretty low-level fight that had some hinky rounds to try and score, not to mention heavy involvement from referee Hector Afu, who took a point from Paul in round five and one from Fury in round six.
Fury was dropped in the eighth and final round on a little counter shot from Paul, which Fury felt was a slip, but a shot did land. That put Paul over the top on our unofficial card and on the one that went his way officially, but it wasn’t enough on the other two.
Fury (9-0, 4 KO) and Paul (6-1, 4 KO) both had their moments, but yes, this was two novices having a novice-level fight. Evenly-matched and sold well, and you can’t hate on that. People cared what happened today, and more boxing could stand to just get people to care.
“For the past two-and-a-half years, this is all that’s consumed my life. Broke rib, denied access (to the U.S.), and everybody thought I was running scared. Tonight, I make my own legacy. I am Tommy Fury,” the victor said, dedicating the win to his newborn child.
“All the way through these two-and-a-half years, I had a dream, I had a vision I would win this fight, and no one believed me. Now I can stand up and everyone can take note. In my first main event, 23 years old, I had the world on me. I had pressure on my shoulders and I came through.”
On Paul having a rematch clause, Fury said he would be up to do it again. “100 percent. This is my first main event, I’m only going to go stronger, I’m gonna go bigger, and I’m only gonna go better. There was a lot of nerves coming in here, I override that. If he wants a rematch, bring it on.”
“All respect to Tommy. He won. Don’t judge me by my wins, judge me by my losses. I’ll come back. I think we deserve that rematch,” Paul said. “It was a great fight, a close fight. I don’t know if I agree with the judges. It is what it is, this is boxing. And I’ve already won in life, man. I’ve already won in every single way.”
“Honestly, I felt flat. I got sick really bad twice in this camp, injured my arm,” he continued, with boos coming in. “It wasn’t my best performance, but I lost. I’m not making excuses, I’m just saying it wasn’t my best performance, I felt a little flat. We’re gonna come back and get that W.”
Paul said he would exercise the rematch clause. “100 percent, let’s run it back.”