By: Sean Crose
It had looked like it might never happen. Yet on Sunday in Saudi Arabia Jake Paul and Tommy Fury finally got it on in the ring as the main attraction of an ESPN pay per view event. The bout between the 6-0 Paul and the 8-0 Fury was scheduled for 8 in the cruiserweight division.
A quirky Fury got the better of things in the first, making himself hard to land on, firing a quick jab, and landing well at round’s end. Paul had a better second that saw him land, but Fury still got the better of the three minute chapter through motion and a stinging jab. Paul had a strong third, a round which he may have won by being the more active fighter. What’s more, Fury didn’t stick and move as he had previously.
The fourth round was all Fury, as he hit Paul hard and with some regularity. As for Paul, ringside broadcaster Shawn Porter was correct in pointing out that the man was telegraphing his shots, giving Fury the advantage of seeing what was coming. Fury got tagged hard by a Paul right in the fifth, though the referee had inexplicably taken a point from Paul for a single shot behind the head that wasn’t particularly harmful of effective. By the end of round, Fury had landed a hard shot of his own.
Paul put some good punches together at the start of the sixth. Fury then took to jabbing well. A point was then taken from Fury for holding. It was a close round, to be sure, but Paul may have edged it. Both men did well in the seventh. It was a tough, gritty fight, which was hard to call. A straight shot from Paul scored a flash knockdown in the eighth and final round. Fury, however, may have gotten the better of the rest of the round.
The judges ended up ruling in favor of Fury by split decision.
“All respect to Tommy,” said Paul. “He won.”
“I don’t know if I agree with the judges,” he added. “This is definitely a humbling experience. I’ll take it on the chin.”
Suffice to say, the two men were gracious to one another after the fight and appeared eager for a rematch.