After many months of insults and metaphorical jabs between the pair, Jake Paul and Tommy Fury finally faced off in an eight-round boxing exhibition.
Jake Paul lost to Fury by split decision and has now activated a clause that all but confirms a Jake Paul Vs Tommy Fury rematch in the near future.
Jake Paul has solidified himself as a respected boxer after multiple clear victories against experienced fighters, like Tyron Woodley, and Anderson Silva.
Despite that, Paul lost in a clinical display of boxing experience on Tommy’s part. Enough to come out ahead on the points.
What would have likely been Paul continuing his boxing career by facing KSI next, instead, Paul’s smart contract activates the ability for him to get his record back into the winning column with another chance at beating Fury.
Jake went as far as to snub the idea of facing KSI in his post-fight interviews, eager to get back into the ring again with Fury to reclaim his record.
Both fighters put on a surprising display of dexterity and boxing class in their first fight. Fury came out early, mostly dominating each round by keeping Paul at a distance with his long-reach jab and circling away from Paul’s primary right-hand power.
Tommy connected very cleanly with Jake’s face and chin, using his stiff jab to deter any advancements.
But Jake wasn’t a pushover, as his skill level was shown quite well as he came up with a game plan of predicting Tommy’s long jab, slipping under it, and responding with either a stiff jab in return or a right to the body followed by a left hook – which caught Tommy several times over.
Jake also chose to go for the body several times, rushing to get in close with Tommy and work the body to lower his guard, likely setting up for a big overhand right that never seemed to come.
Tommy didn’t have many answers for Jake’s bodywork on the entry but seemed to be handling it well without much of any change in his pace or stamina. It became more apparent over the rounds that Fury had the cardio to keep his game plan consistent throughout.
The fight relied on Fury’s ability to outbox Paul in sheer volume. By the middle rounds, Fury already had double the attempted hits and double the clean hits on the record.
Paul would always rely on getting inside the pocket with Fury and seasoning him with a big right hand. And that clean opportunity didn’t quite come for him, as it has in the past against the likes of Tyron Woodley.
Now we know for sure that this matchup is a competitive one and perhaps Jake’s most competitive opponent to date. I do not doubt that he will be fired up to train even harder and get back in the ring with Tommy later in 2023.
Whether or not Jake can get back, that win remains to be seen. But for Tommy, he’s coming out on top from his side no matter what.
Tommy was reportedly paid $7 million for fighting, with the potential of his pay being doubled by Jake for winning (though we’ve no evidence as to whether that went ahead or not), another win under his belt against a huge personality, and yet another opportunity to earn even more big money in the rematch.
Fury was emotional after being declared the winner and humbly accepted the rematch opportunity with Paul, unsurprisingly.
Time will tell to see where this train goes. Whatever happens, we can be sure there’ll be hard cash on the table and an even bigger heated build-up to the rematch.
