On Sunday, up-and-coming star Jake Paul took on Tommy Fury in a pay-per-view professional boxing match. The two have very different backgrounds. Jake Paul, originally a Disney channel actor, rose to boxing fame after becoming a well-known Youtuber and influencer. Tommy Fury, on the other hand, had been fighting for essentially his entire life and has managed to build a successful career outside the shadow of his half-brother Tyson Fury, “The Gypsy King.”
Paul went into his bout against Fury with no losses in his professional boxing career. But on Sunday, Tommy Fury officially handed him his first professional loss with a split decision win. It was a controversial ending, with many believing the fight was “scripted” and Paul deserved to win.
The UFC Weighs In
Of course, with the UFC being the predominant fighting promotion right now, several fighters belonging to the promotion came out and shared their thoughts on Paul’s defeat via Twitter:
“There’s a lot of room for growth for Paul. I felt Tyson Fury was edging it out as well. These guys both made a nice bag!” said the reigning UFC Bantamweight Champion Aljamain Sterling.
“That was a fun boxing match, I enjoyed it. Lot of holding but that happens at all levels of boxing. Mma still better lolz,” said Billy Quarantillo.
“Man you know Jake is regretting that bet right about now,” said Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson.
“Tommy Fury beats Jake Paul. I see a rematch coming. Y’all ain’t slick,” said Derek Brunson.
“That script was fraudulent,” said Adrian Yanez.
“2 amateur fighting boxing, fun to watch but they are not good,” said Johnny Walker.
“Jake gets scored the knock down but Fury won the final round. I have Fury with the win,” said Alan Jouban.
“Anti climactic ending to the Super Bowl. Anti climactic ending to Paul vs Fury. Both events were a fix,” said Michael Chiesa.
“Great fight. Too close to score,” said Cody Durden.
“Fury by UD, but we’ll see…” said Josh Emmett.
Evidently, there were mixed feelings regarding the outcome of the match in the UFC world. Some accepted and predicted Fury’s win and Paul’s defeat, others rejected it and complained that the fight was fixed.
No matter how you see the outcome of the match, I personally believe Jake Paul had it coming. Fury is the first boxer Paul has fought that’s currently in his prime, with his previous professional opponents composed mostly of aged, former superstars trying to stay relevant or former pro basketball players turned amateur boxers. This was the first real opponent Paul has faced, and the result was not surprising given the circumstances.
It’s clear that Paul’s career thus far has been propped up by low-hanging fruit, which he and his agents have pounced on in an effort to bolster the boxer’s resume while making sure he takes on fighters he can actually beat.
A perfect example of this was his win last October over Anderson Silva, the aged UFC legend. While beating Silva sounds like an incredible accomplishment, he was age 47 at the time of the fight, far past his prime. Jake Paul has built his career off these types of bouts, where the outcome is predictable. That road has ended at the hands of a real opponent, Tommy Fury.
