And just like that, overnight, all the people who claim that Jake Paul’s fights are ‘fixed’ are relishing in this loss.
It finally happened, Jake Paul vs Tommy Fury: Battle of the Social Media Sluggers. Two men primarily known for their association to their brothers locked horns in the ring for what will probably be the first of three cash grabs.
This was a fight several years in the making, Tommy Fury had pulled out of this bout twice before and somehow this was supposed to be Jake Paul’s fault. The fight was ruled a split decision in favour of Tommy, and in all honestly probably should have been unanimous. So now the dust has settled, what have we learned?
People Don’t Really Care About Boxing Much Now
Badou Jack won the WBC Cruiserweight title on this card, while a fight between two social media/reality TV stars main evented. Badou Jack has more fights than both of these guys combined – but the conversation has fully been around Paul and Fury.
The raw truth is that boxing as a sport, while not dying is a niche interest now, rather than being the big event it used to be. The pay-outs are high, but interest is low. Boxing will likely remain the chosen sport for celebrities looking to try their hand at exhibition and charity events – purely because it is far easier to pick up than something like MMA or kickboxing. Creator Clash 2, the upcoming E-Celeb boxing event, will probably be more talked about than any boxing match this year.
Jake Paul is Certainly Competent
I have wrote before that pretending Jake Paul can’t box is a fool’s errand. He has power, he has a decent left hook but where he struggles is movement. Compared to Fury, Paul was comparatively stiff. Fury was happy to move in and out and was visibly looser in the shoulders, as you would expect from someone who grew up boxing as opposed to someone who started in 2018.
I’m not expecting Jake Paul to ever become a world champion boxer, and I wouldn’t be at all surprised if his career is in MMA in the near future, given his high school wrestling experience and his boxing being strong enough to carry him in the PFL, assuming he builds his grappling skills.
Tommy Fury is Not His Brother
I think this fight will negatively hurt Tommy Fury’s reputation. As rather than being a sure fire victory, he was unable to knock Paul out. While it was a comfortable victory for Fury, the audience was expecting something he didn’t deliver. There is an unusually venomous hate train for Jake Paul and the desire to see him knocked out will probably leave audiences considering Fury a failure rather than a winner. Comparatively Paul comes out of this looking fairly good to all but the most delusional haters.
So what’s next?
Nobody can predict the future, but I would be surprised if we ever see Tommy Fury in a fight this big that doesn’t involve Jake Paul. Fury is not a high level boxer and so far his performances have been underwhelming even against weak opposition. I’d be delighted to be wrong on that point, but right now, I am not convinced that any of the Fury family beyond Tyson truly have the ability that has made him so successful.
As for Jake Paul? There’s too much money in him fighting for him to conceivably stop, but I would not be surprised to see him make a permanent move to MMA. It makes sense that he would make the switch soon given that grappling will come more naturally to him. That being said, he went the distance with a young professional boxer and losing a fight is simply part of the sport.
Michael Bisping said ‘the Jake Paul experiment is over’. This is wishful thinking. The reality in sports is a loss, is usually, just a loss. The real question is will boxing continue to shrink without these circus show fights. Is the Jake Paul experiment putting more eyes on the sport, and will any of those fans of his become fans of boxing itself. I lean towards no, but maybe I’m wrong.
