26 February 2023 , 23:07
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Tommy Fury defeated Jake Paul by split-decision in Saudi Arabia to settle the pair's two-year long feud.
Paul and Fury had previously made two attempts to fight each other, with two bouts called off on short notice when Fury was injured and had visa issues. But third time was a charm as the pair finally stepped into the ring, earning millions in the process.
And a slew of celebrities made the trip to the Middle East for the grudge bout, with Cristiano Ronaldo, Kevin Hart and Mike Tyson all taking in the bout from plush ringside seats.
The 'Problem Child' let his rival sweat as he delayed his main event ring walk, eventually stepping into the ring and dancing opposite Fury the second he entered. He had declared that the long-awaited grudge fight was no more than "another spar", but the pair sprung out of the traps early, forcing the referee to separate them.
Tommy Fury took on Jake Paul in Saudi Arabia (Getty Images)
Tommy Fury celebrates beating Jake Paul (Getty Images)Paul made it scrappy early, smothering Fury and getting in close in the opening exchanges. But despite struggling with the Brit's jab the biggest shot of the first was an overhand right from the American that his opponent rode well, with Fury likely winning the first of eight rounds.
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And that jab was a real problem for Paul, who struggled to get around Fury's impressive reach and likely dropped another round in the second. However, he got more aggressive in the third and began to take control of the fight, landing at will in particular with a big left with about 30 seconds to go.
As the fourth began, Jake's brother Logan took to the arena microphone to announce that the Brit was "a b****". However, it appeared to do little but push Fury towards an aggressive round where he landed some big shots on his rival. The fifth saw them both land big, but a point was deducted for illegal shots.
Paul landed the better shots and arguably had the better of the round, but losing a point will have cost him a potentially game-changing round. However, it was instantly reversed when Fury had a point deducted as well to even up the controversy of the last round - although both were dubious.
Jake Paul lands on Tommy Fury (Getty Images)Likely knowing he was behind from the open scoring used in the fight, Paul flew out early in the seventh and landed a couple of heavy shots that let Fury know he was still in a fight at the farthest point he has been in his career. Fury returned fire in a major way as the round progressed, with both wearing the seven rounds.
Fury showed off a small cut heading into the eighth after a clash of heads, but the crowd appeared to believe he had done enough. However, early in the eighth, Fury was down from a jab that he walked into. He persisted in an effort to sneak the victory, with the crowd on his side as they made it to the final bell with two of the three judges giving Fury the nod.
Paul said: “All respect to Tommy, he won, and don’t judge me by my wins, judge me by my losses. I’ll come back. I think we deserve that rematch. It was a great fight, a close fight. I don’t know if I agree with the judges. I got a 10-8 round twice, so it is what it is. This is boxing.
Tommy Fury celebrates his win (Getty Images)“Look, I’ve already won in life man, I’ve already won in every single way. I have an amazing family, amazing friends, amazing work ethic and I’ve made further than I ever thought that I would and beyond. This is definitely a humbling experience. I’ll take it on the chin, get back in the gym and we can run it back because I think we put on an amazing show for the fans tonight.”
Fury added: "For the past two and a half years this is all that has consumed my life. Everyone thought I was running scared but I made my own legacy. All the way through I had a vision I would win this fight and no-one would believe me. I had the pressure of the world on my shoulders but I came through. This was my world title fight, this was my destiny and my fate."
In the co-main event, Swede Badou Jack won the WBC cruiserweight title from Ilunga Makabu, stopping the two-time title holder in the twelfth. He is now a three-weight champion having previously held world honours at super-middleweight and light-heavyweight.
Now based in the Dubai and having settled into fighting in Saudi Arabia, Jack became the first Muslim fighter to win a world title on Middle Eastern soil. And he wasn't the only history-maker on the night; in the prelims Ragad Al-Naimi became the first female Saudi Arabian professional boxer, starting her career with a third-round stoppage of Perpetual Okaidah.
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