Tommy Fury Mutes Jake Paul's Big Mouth in the Ring

Tommy Fury beat Jake Paul in the boxing ring. (Photo: Twitter/@tommytntfury)

JAKARTA – Tommy Fury won the first meaningful victory in his professional career. He defeated his nemesis Jake Paul at cruiserweight.

Tommy won on points in the battle that took place at the Diriyah Arena, Saudi Arabia, Monday, 27 am Indonesian time. The 23-year-old boxer managed to overcome a knockdown in the dying minutes to win over his rival.

Mike Ross (75-74) was the only judge to give Paul the win in this fight. Meanwhile, Omar Mintun (76-73) and Daniel Van de Wiele (76-73) handed Fury the win in six of eight rounds in this ESPN+ Pay-Per-View main event.

Tommy said this victory made him break away from the shadow of his older brother, Tyson Fury. Tyson is the WBC world heavyweight champion.

"I created my own legacy. I am Tommy Fury. For me, this is my world title fight," said Fury.

The celebrity status of the two boxers made for a show-stopping fight that garnered international attention. Boxing legend Mike Tyson and superstar Cristiano Ronaldo even attended this event.

However, the lack of boxing experience between the two fighters was evident as soon as the match bell rang. Referee Hector Afu had to issue two warnings in the first minute of the fight for the two to fight according to his instructions in the ring.

Paul was deducted one point from the referee in the fifth round for grabbing Fury by the back of the head. The 26-year-old Paul then responded with a left hook on the other side of the round.

The referee also deducted one point for Fury in the sixth round. However, Fury did well in this round, winning the jab and also hitting the American with a right uppercut on the inside.

Apart from those problems, Paul in this fight actually managed to knock Tommy down in the eighth or the last round.

Fury protested loudly to the referee that he fell because he slipped on the floor of the ring. However, the screams were not heard. The referee decided Fury went down because of Paul's left jab.

The knockdown made the difference in this fight even though it wasn't enough to give Paul the win in the end. Fury eventually improved his record to 9-0 (4KO), landing more punches.

Fury landed 88 of 302 total (29.1%) according to Compubox, compared to Paul's 49 of 157 (31.2%).