YouTube star Jake Paul took the first defeat of his professional boxing career, losing a split decision to Tommy Fury.
But he so nearly won it – early in the eighth and final round, Paul landed a short left hand jab on Fury that sent him to the canvas.
To that point, the fight had been evenly fought. It was the only knockdown of the bout and looked like it could have decided the victor.
AS IT HAPPENED: Jake Paul downed by Tommy Fury in split result
IN PICTURES: Jake Paul v Tommy Fury
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But earlier, the younger half-brother of heavyweight champion Tyson Fury had controlled long stretches of the fight, held at the Diriyah Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Two judges scored the bout 76-73 for Fury, while the third favoured Paul, 75-74.
“I’ve already won every single way in life,” Paul said in his post-fight interview.
“I made it farther than I ever thought I would, and beyond. This is a humbling experience. I’ll take it on the chin and come back.”
Fury is the first professional boxer fought by Paul, who built his lucrative second career by taking on mixed martial artists and a fellow YouTuber in boxing bouts that generated huge social media attention despite featuring more enthusiasm than skill.
Fury also is much better known as a celebrity sibling – and much more accomplished as a reality television star – than as a boxer, leading to a relatively even match-up with Paul.
Fury’s unbeaten record entering this bout was built against a series of wildly overmatched opponents with a combined record of 24-176-5.
“In my first main event, 23 years old, I had the world on my shoulders, and I came through,” Fury said.
“This, to me, is a world title fight. I trained so hard for this. This was my destiny.”
Paul had his moments in the first four rounds in front of a star-studded crowd, but Fury landed more significant shots behind a consistent jab that allowed him to keep Paul at a distance.
Fury dedicates win to baby daughter
Paul appeared to stun Fury with an accurate left hook early in the fifth round, but he also lost a point when the referee penalised him, apparently for pushing down on Fury’s head in a clinch. The referee then took a point from Fury in the sixth for the same infraction.
Fury had a strong seventh round despite a cut near his left eye from a clash of heads, repeatedly tagging Paul with combinations. But Paul abruptly reversed the momentum with a perfectly timed left that wobbled Fury, who put his left glove on the canvas to steady himself and bounced up immediately.
Paul’s classy speech after Fury defeat
Fury finished strong and claimed the decision.
Fury and Paul were slated to meet two times previously, but Fury was unavailable for both showdowns. He injured a rib before their scheduled bout in December 2021, and he was denied entry to the US last year ahead of a planned meeting in August.
The crowd in the arena outside Riyadh included football legend Cristiano Ronaldo, comedian Kevin Hart and a collection of boxers including Mike Tyson, Deontay Wilder, Devin Haney and Tyson Fury, who had publicly urged his younger sibling to interrupt Paul’s career with a knockout.
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