Tommy Fury vs Jake Paul: Who Will Win The Rematch?
Tommy Fury and Jake Paul have become the biggest rivals in boxing, and after years of ongoing fight talks, they finally met in the ring on the 26th of February, 2023, in Saudi Arabia. Fury and Paul had agreed to fight on three separate occasions with some bizarre terms added, like Tommy changing his name to ‘Fumbles’ if he lost.
However, as much as the fight was put back, with ongoing hype for years, everyone brought into the Youtuber vs the Love Islander feud with many massive boxing stars in attendance, including Mike Tyson, to witness it live. And to be perfectly honest, the fight was quite exciting.
In the build-up to the fight, both men claimed they were going to knock their opponent out, and they were levels apart, but in honesty, they were closer than many thought, and the fight lasted the distance, awarding a split decision to Fury. Many purists were pleased it was done and dusted as they didn’t believe it was good for boxing.
Still, unfortunately for them, we already have a Jake Paul vs Tommy Fury rematch in the pipeline, as Jake Paul has activated the rematch clause.
Who is Jake Paul?
- Born: 17th January 1997
- Height: 6 ft 1 in
- Weight: 190 pounds
Jake Paul is an American Youtube star, actor, and professional boxer. He has gained massive popularity with over 20 million followers on his YouTube channel and also starred in the Disney series Bizaardvark playing Dirk Mann.
He also starred in the Walk the Prank special, “Talk the Prank with Jake and Logan Paul”. Jake is the brother of Logan Paul, who fought boxing legend Floyd Mayweather in an exhibition boxing bout.
Who is Tommy Fury?
- Born: 7th May 1999
- Height: 6ft
- Weight: 180 pounds
Tommy Fury is the younger half-brother of the WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury. Boxing has always been in his roots, but he is better known to many for his appearance in Love Island. You can read our article ‘Tommy Fury: From Love Island to professional boxer’ here.
Why did Tommy Fury fight Jake Paul?
Since Fury left the Love Island Villa in 2019, he has been looking for the perfect boxing opponents to boost his profile and earn large sums of money. Already a celebrity, he wanted to avoid fighting low-ranked fighters in sports halls.
Jake Paul ticked all the boxes for Fury, as he is relatively new to boxing, yet he is a global YouTube sensation with over 20 million followers; he could offer the platform Fury wanted. This fight allowed Fury to show his talents to the world, as his boxing career was still early.
Paul vs Fury: The Fight
After Tommy Fury defeated bitter rival Jake Paul in a brutal boxing grudge battle on Sunday night, the dust is still settling on a massive main event in Saudi Arabia. The former Love Island star won the judges’ scorecards in a split decision after suffering a late knockdown that he claimed was a slip, earning him bragging rights and his most significant career victory.
This fight wasn’t about who is the best boxer in the world, as they both have a world rank in the hundreds; it was simply could the fighters prove the doubters wrong. The controversy leading up to the fight has made it one of the most talked-about fights on social media. Jake offered Fury a double-or-nothing bet at the press conference, which his dad John Fury agreed for him.
Tommy Fury being the lifelong boxer and part of the Fury family, it was no walk in the park. This should have quickly gone his way, but Paul was well and truly underestimated. Paul controlled the centre of the ring more, but Fury was the neater boxer and more effective with his countering. And halfway through the fight, they looked exhausted, giving everything they had.
The final round came, and it looked like Fury was edging it on the scorecards; then Paul threw a solid punch knocking Fury back and going down to the canvas. After the fight, brother Tyson claimed it was a slip, but a clean punch landed, resulting in him dropping, so it had to be counted.
When the final bell went, both fighters thought they had done enough. One judge awarded it to Jake Paul, and the other two gave it to Fury, winning by split decision.
Many boxing fans and those involved in the sport wanted Fury to win as he is regarded as the more professional boxer. People can’t look past Jake Paul doing silly YouTube videos, claiming boxing shouldn’t have these fights. Yet, Paul going toe-to-toe with a professional boxer and part of the Fury family, Jake Paul, did well.
Watch the full Tommy Fury vs Jake Paul fight below:
So is Tommy Fury a Better Boxer than Jake Paul?
Jake Paul
Jake gets regarded by many as ‘just a Youtuber’. However, he is making waves in the boxing world, and he has rustled a few feathers with some of the biggest stars in combat sports, including the notorious Conor McGregor.
Paul has already beaten former MMA legends in boxing bouts like Anderson Silva and Tyrone Woodley, but facing Fury was the first time he fought someone who has only ever focused on boxing.
It is a credit to Jake Paul, the YouTube star who has picked one of the most challenging sports to get involved in, and despite the criticism he receives, Jake Paul has done a lot of good for the sport.
Also, for someone who is a later-comer to the sport, he challenges some of the biggest names in boxing. Jake is taking boxing seriously, and he is putting in the hours in the gym. Of course, there are flaws, but his confidence and dedication are through the roof, so he was a formidable opponent to break down.
After a lacklustre performance in which he was second best, Paul has already indicated his intention to invoke his rematch clause. Paul later disclosed that illness and injuries severely hampered his pre-fight camp. The YouTuber, who was previously undefeated at 6-0 after defeating fellow online stars and former MMA champions, is grappling with his first-ever loss in professional boxing.
Tommy Fury
Tommy, on the other hand, with a surname like Fury and a brother as a world champion, you would expect him to box perfectly, and an opponent like Jake Paul should have been a walk in the park.
“For the past two years, this is all that has consumed my life,” an emotional Fury, who has now won all nine professional bouts, said on BT Sport.
“Everybody thought I was running scared, but I made my legacy tonight.”
Source: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/boxing/64779968
Surprisingly enough, Tommy Fury still has much to prove in the traditional family sport of boxing. Tommy Fury is in great physical shape, and his boxing looks on point, especially in training, but finding his range and timing is where he could improve. It appears Tommy tries too hard to impress, looking for a spectacular knockout to get his opponent out of there. Also, he still needs to get the flare of his brother Tyson.
In reality, Tommy Fury comes from a fighting family and with his pedigree in boxing, since turning pro, he should have already fought high-ranked fighters and progressively worked his way up the ranks. And even now, with the win over Jake Paul, according to Boxrec, he is ranked #155 globally.
Could Jake Paul win the rematch?
Absolutely. In their last fight, Paul never appeared hurt the entire duration and won a few rounds. Jake Paul has every chance of winning if he returns to the drawing board and returns stronger. It doesn’t matter how long you have done something; it’s how much you do it for that counts.
So, even though Tommy Fury has had a lifetime of boxing, if Jake Paul dedicates all his time to training, he certainly has a good chance of winning. We will see!
Will Influencer Boxing Save or Destroy Boxing?
No matter what time Jake Paul tweets, he can reach 200 million people and have it retweeted 10 million times in approximately five minutes. If so many new viewers follow the sport, they will continue after boxing.
Tommy Fury vs Jake Paul was a phenomenon. Not for the calibre of the eight rounds of action on Sunday night but for the volume of interest they attracted.
The last fight featured two evenly matched prospects despite their lack of experience. Fury did a decent job of winning it, but Paul’s knockdown in the final round narrowed the scoring.
However, the amount of attention and compensation they received was significantly greater than what the calibre of the boxing in their match deserved, according to the sport’s purists.
Matthew Macklin, a former contender for the world championship, does not see an advantage for the sport as a whole.
“Big numbers, big viewership, it’s money, interest. But as a boxing fan, I’m interested to see the best of the best in the boxing world,” Macklin told Sky Sports. “Are those days gone? I don’t know.
“People on television should be the highest standard,” he continued. “People on television are usually championship-level fighters or on their way to being it.”
Next Fight: Paul vs KSI
The YouTube star called Alexis Demetriades, who has been KSI’s coach since 2019, immediately following the Jake Paul vs Tommy Fury fight and said he “wants to sleep both of them and that he could do it easy,” according to Demetriades.
“KSI’s got a lot of power in both of his hands and has improved massively with it. He’s not one-dimensional or a one-handed fighter as some of these guys are.”
Although Demetriades acknowledges that Fury is a superior boxer to his opponent, he feels that Fury struggles with KSI’s strengths of having a good chin, power, and cardio.
“KSI punches very, very hard, so if he catches Tommy—which he would—100% he’s going to put him to sleep,” he claimed.
“From what I’ve seen in the gym, KSI is knocking out professional fighters, good level boxers, national level guys, well-known guys in the scene. He knocks them out. “KSI has the dog in him.”
DAZN Boxing has the same idea here:
Final Thoughts
Many want to avoid seeing the Tommy Fury vs Jake Paul fights. However, we need to find out how it can be bad for boxing; they’re not fighting for a world championship, and if people are happy to watch, what’s the issue? It only brings in a bigger audience to the sport.
Either way, we wish both fighters the best of luck with their career.
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