Somto Bisina
Jake Paul, YouTuber-turned-boxing star just lost to Tommy Fury in an 8-round split decision in Saudi Arabia.
After years of trash talk, the men finally met in the boxing ring to back up their talks, and fight each other over the course of 24 minutes. Stars like Cristiano Ronaldo, Deontay Wilder and Mike Tyson watched from the arena.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelPaul disrupted the world of boxing, leveraging his social media profile to build a career in the sport.
His progress through boxing, though, has been utterly unorthodox. Jake Paul boxed another influencer, a basketball player, before beating a succession of MMA fighters, although that did include ageing great Anderson Silva.
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But against Tommy Fury, Paul was trying to prove himself against his first opponent with a boxing background, albeit a boxer who is better known for his appearance on reality television, and for being the younger brother of WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury.
26-year-old Jake and 23-year-old Tommy had their moments, both landing big shots throughout the fight. In the 8th round, Paul landed a jab that sent Fury to the canvas. Fury quickly returned to his feet, and was very competitive for the remainder of the round.
Tommy appeared to be the bigger man in the small, 18-foot ring, and used his reach advantage and jab to keep Jake at bay.
Fury was the more active fighter, throwing 302 punches, with 88 landing. Paul threw 157 punches and landed 49.
It was a split decision on the judge’s scorecards, one judge had Jake ahead by a point. The other two judges had Tommy winning, and that was the difference.
Tommy was emotional after the match, saying the feud with Jake Paul, has dominated the last two years of his life. Fury also said he now has made a name for himself, stepping out of his heavyweight champion brother Tyson’s shadow.
