Tommy Fury won the Saudi grudge match over Jake Paul via split decision with scorecards 75-74 Paul, 76-73 Fury, 76-73 Fury. Fury picked himself up off the canvas in round eight to win the bout over eight rounds at a 185lb catchweight.
From the off, Fury came forward wrestling Paul up against the ropes. A bit scrappy open doors as both men fell short and came together in the clinch.
Over and over, they wrapped their arms around each other. Outside of a few jabs from Fury not much landed although a half-decent left hook slipped through for the Brit which proved to be the decider.
Fury began to find a home for his jab in the second as Paul stalked and launched his trademark overhand right, falling short but not too far away. Another cagey round that was likely edged by Fury.
Moving into the second half of the fight, Paul began to establish his jab but had a point taken off in round five for rabbit punching, which seemed a little harsh. Paul would have won the round after landing some nice left hooks again.
Round six saw Paul pick up the urgency, but it quickly became an ugly mess with both men falling short and leaning all over each other. Fury had a point taken off for excessive holding, the story of the fight. More clinching than action. A drawn round given the point deduction, Paul’s jab being the decider.
Round seven saw some clean shots land from Fury, a nice 1-2 knocked Paul off balance. The ram-rodding jab always present. Paul missed wildly and looked extremely tired.
In the final round, the overhand right finally connected well for Paul as Fury touched down momentarily. The referee scored it a knockdown, but Fury protested. Fury came back landing a series of shots to the head and body.