Jake Paul is down.
For the first time since the start of his bombastic, polarizing, unexpected and – admit it now, increasingly intriguing – foray into boxing, the punching You-Tuber has tasted defeat.
Paul lost to Tommy Fury in a split decision eight-rounder on the outskirts of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Sunday, which you were already aware of, assuming you went anywhere near any form of social media as the final rounds of the weekend closed in.
Despite the relative inexperience of both men – Fury is now 9-0 (4 KOs), Paul 6-1 – it was a bout that attracted more eyeballs, across more platforms, than virtually any other contest the sport has to offer right now.
Of course, that very fact has been held up by the traditionalists as some kind of disaster and scandal, the idea that hype, hoopla and celebrity can be greater generators of interest that pure, resolute pugilistic skill.
But those naysayers are, like they have been from the very beginning, missing the point.
The simple fact is that fights carry far more interest when there is a story attached. Floyd Mayweather’s fighting style was largely defensive and dull, but he did a masterful job of turning himself into a cash-making machine when he switched tack from being “Pretty Boy Floyd” to “Money Mayweather,” with its brash, boastful persona.
Paul has taken things to an extreme level, leveraging the power of his online following, ramping up the antics, gamifying the trash talk. His primary motive has been to garner attention for himself and line his own pockets, but his presence has also meant millions of people exposed to boxing who otherwise would not have been.
Losses stall momentum for emerging fighters, therefore it is theoretically possible that this is the beginning of the end for Paul as a boxer, but it doesn’t seem particularly likely.
For a start, there was no disgrace to be had in the loss.
Fury is the kind of real boxer that the critics have been screaming for Paul to fight. Brother of heavyweight superstar Tyson Fury, Tommy Fury has been fighting since he was 6 years old. Sure, Fury’s record was padded with a series of victories against unaccomplished victims, but that’s simply what happens in the fight game when it comes to elevating any kind of prospect.
Paul lost via a split on the scorecards, but any controversy over the decision is a nonsense. Paul deserved credit, and his performance is worthy of the money-spinning rematch that is contractual obligated and will likely follow, but it was the correct result, despite the poor overall performance from referee Hector Afu.
Afu was seemingly intent on becoming part of the action and docked Paul a point for a blow to the back of the head late, when a warning would have been more circumspect. By the end, however, Fury had landed as many power shots as Paul did total punches.
Neither Afu’s intervention, nor the late knockdown (was it a slip) that sent Fury to the canvas could change the outcome, just as the outcome probably did nothing to stem Paul’s fight career.
There is money to be made because people will watch, whether he fights social media star KSI, who previously squared off against his brother Logan Paul, or if he takes on more former MMA star like Ben Askren and Anderson Silva, or if he fights a kind of hybrid like on Sunday. Fury has boxing chops, but came with the added bonus of having a background in reality TV and a strong inbuilt following.
Even though the WBC announced, in a shameless exercise in opportunistic self-promotion, that it would place the winner of the Paul-Fury bout in the top 15 of its cruiserweight rankings, that’s not where Paul’s future lay anyway. A gradual slog up the ratings list, before an eventual shot at a title? That was never part of his blueprint.
His approach has always been about what get people talking the most – and make the most money. What the purists don’t seem to get is that this has always been boxing’s way, right back to the fight game’s earliest history.
“I’ve already won in every single way in life,” Paul said afterward. “I made it further than I ever thought I would, and beyond. This is a humbling experience. I’ll take it on the chin and come back.”
So yes, Paul is down.
But he’s not out, not yet. With estimated earnings in excess of $10 million from last weekend, not by a long shot.
