Jake Paul vs Tommy Fury – Results & Post-Fight Report

Jake Paul and Tommy Fury locked horns at the Diriyah Arena in Saudi Arabia, and Fury got the nod, taking a split decision win in the Middle East.

The fight had been nearly two years in the making, and had been postponed twice, once due to a rib injury to Fury, and he then was denied access to the USA for a mooted August 2022 date, and the pair finally got it on at the third time of asking. Paul (6-1, KO4) had built his unbeaten record mainly on a diet of ex-MMA fighters, while Fury (9-0, KO4) also came in unbeaten, knocking over limited opposition himself.

The 185 pound catchweight contest was scheduled for eight rounds, it was a scrappy opening frame, with plenty of holding and not a lot of note happening until a left hand landed from Fury on the bell. Both men opened up in round two, and Fury worked well off his jab in what was a close to score affair. Paul had more success in the third, but Fury finally let his hands go to start the fourth, landing with several right hands, although he was forced to take a left hand from Paul, which was the best punch of the contest to date. Paul landed with a raking right hand in round five, but had a point deducted in the same frame for punching behind the head, and he responded with a left hand that momentarily shook Fury’s legs.

Both looked tired in the sixth as the pace slowed, and Fury was docked a point himself for holding, and the seventh was more attritional work as the bout entered the final session. Paul landed with a left at the very start of the round, and he then dropped Fury with a surprise left jab that had him off balance. Fury unloaded on the resumption, but the fight went to the scorecards.

Jake Paul received a tally of 75-74 from one judge, but two scores of 76-73 declared Fury the winner, with a rematch more than likely.

The undercard had a bona fide world title match on it, and Badou Jack (28-3-3, KO17) became a three-weight world champion win a last round stoppage win against WBC cruiserweight champion Ilunga Makabu (29-3, KO25).

Makabu had spent over a year away from the ring, and took time to shake the ring rust before getting into a rhythm, but he was stunned in the fourth, as Jack uncorked a counter right hand to score a knockdown. After halfway, Makabu largely got the better of the action, but found himself on the deck for a second time in the penultimate round, a chopping right hand doing the trick. With Makabu tiring and fading in the last, another right hand pushed him back to the ropes, and after Jack rained in punches, the referee had seen enough.

Jordanian talent Bader Samreen (8-0, KO7) started the televised portion of the card with a bang, as he stopped Viorel Simion (23-10, KO9) inside a round of their lightweight contest set for eight. A jarring right hand landed flush on the chin of Simion, and it floored the Romanian. He attempted to beat the count, but the referee waved the contest off.

Bader Samreen kicked off fight night with a 1st round TKO. Photo Credit: Skill Challenge Entertainment[/caption]

Muhsin Cason (11-0, KO8), brother of former world heavyweight champion Hasim Rahman, also wasted little time, as he forced Taryel Jafarov (18-6, KO17) to retire after a round of their cruiserweight contest. A massive right hand floored Jafarov almost from the opening bell, and he did well to see the session out, and after the bell rang, Jafarov’s corner pulled him out of battle to hand Cason the win.

In a bar room brawl of a fight at welterweight, home hero Ziyad Almaayouf (2-0, KO1) had to get off the canvas to take a four round decision against Ronnald Martinez (3-2-1, KO0). In a wild first round, Almaayouf was decked by a heavy right hand, and he shook Martinez up on the resumption just on the bell to end the opener. After another packed second, Almaayouf impressed with his boxing, and that earned him the win by three scores of 38-37.

Adam Saleh (1-0-1, KO1) got his first win as a professional, as debutant Stuart Kellogg (0-1) failed to come out for the second round of their scheduled six rounder at super lightweight due to an arm injury.