Jake Paul suffered the first loss in his professional boxing career after finally squaring off against Tommy Fury following three failed attempts in the past few years, bringing his record to seven wins and one loss. He did, however, show the world his boxing skills were up to scratch.
Fury started off hot on the trot, edging out Paul in the first two rounds with consistent jabs. Paul swung the momentum back his way in the third, however, thanks to some nice jabs. It was a messy scrap with whiffed punches and combinations, but it became a contest. Fury must have sensed it too because he fired back in the fourth by letting his hands go and hitting Paul with combos and counters, though he was caught by one himself too.
From that point, the two fighters traded blows evenly as the momentum swung back and forth. Fury still managed to get the better of Paul, but that changed in the eighth and final round when Paul dropped Fury with a left jab, although it looked like Fury may have lost his footing and slipped, which contributed to the knockdown.
In the end, it wasn’t enough to sway the judges—at least, not all of them. Two judges scored the contest 76-73 in favor of Fury, while one scored it 74-75 in favor of Paul, resulting in a split-decision victory for Fury.
A rematch could be on the cards, though. The contract included a rematch clause if Paul lost to Fury, and Fury said he was up for it.
“One hundred percent,” he said. “If he wants a rematch, bring it on!” Furry also called out the waves of people online who said he was “running scared” from Paul in the past two years because the first two fights didn’t eventuate—once due to injury and another time due to travel issues.
“For the past two and a half years, this is all that’s consumed my life,” he said. “I’ve had broken ribs, denied access, and everybody thought I was running scared. But tonight I made my own legacy. I am Tommy Fury.”
Published: Feb 26, 2023 07:06 pm