- Tommy Fury upsets Jake Paul with a split decision win in their 8-round cruiserweight boxing bout in Saudi Arabia.
- Fury closed as the +145 betting underdog and was a +450 to win the bout on points.
- BetOnline has opened the betting odds for a possible rematch, with both fighters currently listed at -115 odds.
Jake Paul is undefeated no more. Tommy Fury, the younger half-brother of boxing heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, took a 76-73-,76-73, 74-75 split decision win over the former Disney actor and YouTube star in an 8-round bout on Sunday in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia.
The loss ended a six-fight unbeaten streak for Paul who entered the fight as the -170 betting favorite at BetOnline. Fury was a +145 underdog to win the fight and was a +450 to win on points.
Paul had seen his odds move as high as -225 during the betting period while Fury went as long as +185 at the same sportsbook. According to BetOnline’s Dave Mason, 13 out of the 14 largest bets wagered on the fight were placed on Paul and 69% of the total betting handle were placed on the American. But Fury had other plans.
Jake Paul’s perfect boxing record is OVER as Tommy Fury wins via split decision #PaulFury
76-73 Fury
76-73 Fury
75-74 Paul pic.twitter.com/6OgZowmsT3— BetOnline.ag (@betonline_ag) February 26, 2023
I am Tommy Fury
Pegged at +150 one day before the event, Tommy Fury entered Sunday’s bout looking to prove his detractors wrong. In 2021, Fury’s half-brother Tyson jokingly threatened to disown him if he lost to the former Disney Star. Tommy made sure that didn’t happen.
After the verdict was read, Fury told reporters that this was his world title fight. Added Fury:
“Tonight I make my own legacy. I am Tommy Fury.”
Paul opened the fight trying to land the overhand right that won most of his previous bouts. However, Fury threw a consistent jab that kept Paul off throughout the fight. The first big punch came from Fury who snapped Paul’s head back with a stiff jab midway into round 2.
Despite a solid round 2, Paul’s odds had faltered to -156 with Fury climbing to +136 odds. Fury had his strongest three minutes in round 4 and the odds shifted after that round at -140 with Paul falling back to +110 odds. Paul got a one-point deduction in Round 5 but Fury was also slapped a one-point penalty in the sixth round.
Entering the final round, Tommy’s odds had ballooned to -500 but just as when it looked like he was pulling away, Jake dropped him with a jab. But the Brit got up and appeared to finish stronger.
Jake Paul ‘felt flat’ in loss to Tommy Fury, blames illness, arm injury https://t.co/xYbDYdgYJS
— Bloody Elbow (@BloodyElbow) February 27, 2023
Jake Paul Says that He Felt Flat
During his post-fight interview, Jake Paul promised to bounce back stronger. But Paul also admitted “feeling flat” during the fight while also revealing several factors that may have contributed to his performance.
“Honestly, I felt flat. I got sick really bad twice in this camp. Injured my arm. So, it wasn’t my best performance.”
“But I lost. I’m not making excuses; I’m just saying it wasn’t my best performance. I felt a little flat. And like I said, we’re gonna come back and get that W. Don’t judge me by my wins, judge me by my losses. I’m gonna come back stronger.”
He also said the same thing, minus the illness and injury, during the post-fight press conference. Whatever it was, Tommy Fury outworked him on Sunday, and except for the knockdown, it was statistically a one-sided affair.
According to Compubox stats, Fury threw nearly twice as many punches as Paul at 302 against 157. Tommy also landed a total of 88 punches versus Jake’s 49. Fury had the edge in jabs at 39-25 and power punches at 49-24.
He landed more punches than Paul in six out of the eight rounds and both men were even in total punches landed in the two other rounds.
Tommy Fury Was the First Boxer That Paul Fought
Paul entered Sunday’s match with a six-fight professional boxing record. Despite that, he had never faced a “real” boxer before.
In four of his bouts, Jake faced former MMA champions Ben Askren, Tyron Woodley (2 times), and Anderson Silva. He also fought a former NBA player Nate Robinson, a YouTube star in AnEsonGib, and closed as the betting favorite in all of those bouts.
Aside from not being boxers, Jake Paul’s first five opponents were also not his size.
AnEsonGib and Robinson were 5-9 tall or nearly half a foot shorter than Paul while Askren and Woodley fought as welterweights in the UFC or 170 pounds. Silva was the closest to his size as he fought at middleweight or 185 pounds. However, the Spider was already 47 years old when he fought the Problem Child.
Fury entered the fight with an undefeated record. But it wasn’t that he was a prospect or anything. His eight opponents held a combined record of 24-176-5, which isn’t something to be proud of.
While Fury’s resume has been criticized as being full of tomato cans, he was the first boxer by profession that Jake Paul ever faced. Tommy is six feet tall or just one inch shorter than Jake.
However, Fury has an 80-inch reach, four inches longer than Paul. As a pro boxer, Fury has fought at light heavyweight or cruiserweight and weighed 184.5 pounds, slightly heavier than Paul’s 183.6.
Third Time was the Charm
Sunday marked the third time that the two fighters were booked to fight each other in the past two years, and it was the charm.
Paul and Fury were first booked to fight on December 18, 2021, at the Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida. The former Disney actor opened as the +120 underdog with Tyson Fury’s little brother hitting the betting boards as the -150 betting favorite.
But Fury withdrew from the bout after suffering a rib injury and bacterial infection, and Jake Paul ended up beating Tyron Woodley in a rematch.
The two were penciled to fight again last August 6, 2022, in what was supposed to be a dual-main event featuring women’s boxing world champion Amanda Serrano as the co-headliner.
But that booking was canceled once again after Fury encountered visa issues. When that second booking was announced, Fury had reopened as the -130 favorite at BetOnline, with Jake Paul coming back at even money odds.
With promoters swinging and missing twice, they gambled on putting up the fight for the third time. Because Jake Paul was coming off an impressive win over Anderson Silva last October, the bout reopened as a pick’em, with both Paul and Fury hitting the betting boards at -115 odds. BetOnline has also listed both fighters at the same -115 odds in a possible rematch.
