Tommy Fury defeats Jake Paul, his bitter rival, by a split decision to end the YouTuber’s unbeaten run.
Following months of heated exchanges and two failed fights the pair finally stepped in the ring with each other on Sunday night in front of a star-studded audience.
Boxing legend Mike Tyson and Cristiano Ronaldo, who recently signed for Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr, were just some of the guests of honour who watched the eight-round encounter unfold.
Paul, who shot to fame on YouTube before turning his hand to boxing in recent years, had got off to a decent start to his fighting career before meeting the half-brother of heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, compiling a record of 6-0.
However, Tommy, a professional boxer by trade with a sideline in social media, certainly proved a tougher test. Before the fight, Tommy’s family had jokes they would leave him in Saudi Arabia if he failed to overcome Paul.
And he certainly looked like a man with a point to prove as he came out of the traps flying, controlling much of the encounter. Fury threw, and landed, more punches, but Paul still showcased his sound boxing skills, catching his opponent with some stern counterpunches.
Both men had a point deducted for their actions in numerous scrappy clinches, and Paul even managed a dubious knockdown in the eighth, despite Tommy’s protests that it was a slip.
But it made little difference to the result as Tommy had his hand raised by the referee to seal a split decision victory, with the judges scoring the contest 74-75, 76-73, 76-73 in the former Love Islander’s favour.
Speaking after the defeat, Jake Paul said: “All respect to Tommy, he won. I think we deserve that rematch. I don’t know if I agree with the judges. I got a 10-8 round twice… I felt flat, I got sick really bad twice in this camp, and injured my arm. But I lost, I’m not making excuses.”
He added: “I’ve already won every single way in life,” Paul said after the fight. “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.”
Meanwhile, an emotional Tommy Fury said: “There was a lot of pressure on my shoulders tonight, people have got to realise that. I went out there, I performed and I got the win, and that’s that. No one can take that away from me. Like I’ve always said, Tyson is the greatest heavyweight to ever live in my opinion. But tonight it was Tommy Fury’s little glimpse.
“This for me is like a world title fight. The amount that went into this camp, it was three years in the making. And all three years it was my fault, I was the one running, I was the one scared – I couldn’t go out in public without getting heckled. And I just silenced that all tonight.”
Despite talk of a double-or-nothing deal pre-fight, both fighters will still receive a purse in the high millions. When pay-per-view income is considered, Paul is expected to earn around $8.6m and Fury $4.5m.
Unsurprisingly, KSI had a few words to say about the result. After trolling Paul and his fans, he tweeted: “Honestly, I would destroy both Jake Paul and Tommy Fury.”
Fury, however, disagrees. Asked about the prospect of a fight with KSI, he said: “KSI can sit back in his seat in London and say what he wants… I’ll tell you now if KSI wants to entertain a fight he’s no Jake Paul. And I’ll take that no problem.”
Either way, it looks like KSI will have to wait, with news breaking that Paul is set to force a rematch with Fury first.
