Tommy Fury Defeats Jake Paul in Grudge Match by Split Decision

Jake Paul has finally met his match. Who is ready for the rematch? 

Tommy Fury, the 23-year-old brother of WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, defeated YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul in a highly anticipated match between two boxing novices. The eight-round bout took place on a Sunday night at the open-top Diriyah Arena in Riyadh and was attended by various sports and entertainment celebrities. Fury won the match by split decision, with one judge scoring it 75-74 to Paul, and the other two scoring it 76-73 to Fury.

Fury was the busier fighter and landed more accurate punches, displaying his boxing fundamentals. Although Paul knocked Fury down in the eighth round, Fury managed to get back up and continue fighting. After the match, an emotional Fury, who has now won all nine of his professional bouts, dedicated the fight to his newborn baby daughter, Bambi, and said, "This is my first main event, I am going to get bigger and better, and if he wants a rematch, bring it on."

Jake Paul, who lost for the first time in his seventh professional fight, expressed his respect for Fury, saying, "All respect to Tommy, he won. Don't judge me by my wins, judge me by my losses." He also expressed doubt about the judges' scores and stated, "I don't know if I agree with the judges, it is what it is, but that is the boxing world."

The fight took place an hour later than scheduled, with the first bell ringing at 10:30 GMT. Despite the hype and expectation, the opening minute of the fight was scrappy, with Fury landing a couple of solid jabs. Fury settled well into the second round, rocking Paul's head back with a sharp jab and even showboating by twirling his hand and landing a flush punch. Paul started to use his jab and found success in the third round.

In the fourth round, Paul's brother Logan was interviewed ringside and insulted Fury and his family, further dividing the opinions of traditionalists who feel it is making a mockery of the sport. The comments seemed to spur Fury on as he connected with a short right hand and followed it with a flurry of punches from range.

Paul had the best of the fifth round but was deducted a point for a punch to the back of the head. Fury landed terrific uppercuts in the sixth round, but then he was also deducted a point for holding. Neither fighter was warned by the referee beforehand.

In a frantic final round, with both boxers looking to land the telling blow, Fury hit the deck from a Paul jab. He looked more startled than hurt and insisted to the referee it was a slip. Although it wasn't a great boxing match, the fight was entertaining and lived up to the hype.

The match between Fury and Paul was the latest lucrative sporting event to take place in Saudi Arabia, with the kingdom spending billions to bring elite sport to the country.

The boxing match has brought more attention to the sport of boxing and could potentially bring in more fans.