Here’s what Jake Paul had to say at the Paul vs. Fury post-fight press conference about his split decision loss and future plans in boxing.
It was a tough night for Jake Paul in Saudi Arabia as he experienced the first loss of his career to professional boxer Tommy Fury. Fury outworked Paul across eight rounds to win a split decision, with two judges awarding him 76-73 scores. The dissenting judge saw it 75-74 Paul.
Paul looked shocked and disappointed as the scorecards were read (watch video highlights from the fight here), but had regained his composure by the time he sat down at the post-fight press conference to speak to media.
“Good fight, good war. Tough kid,” he said when asked about the fight. “I didn’t have my best performance. All fair play to Tommy. He won fair and square. And that’s boxing, man. You gotta take it on the chin. But it was good, some good moments in there. I just couldn’t get my game plan working. But hey man, this is what the sport’s all about. You win some in glorious fashion, and you lose some.”
“I think he was just really well prepared, and I think it was more so more so a reflection of my own performance, versus him being super outstanding. I couldn’t get my momentum going like I wanted to. And I just felt kind of flat. Flat, yeah … He was exactly the fighter I expected him to be. I think his combinations were the thing that were a bit more impressive. But more so again, it was a reflection of my own performance and me not fighting the way I can.”
Paul expanded on the flat feeling he had during the fight.
“I don’t know what it was, but I just didn’t have that energy,” he said. “So that happens. I felt like this in the first Tyron Woodley fight where we went all eight rounds. I just felt kind of flat. But that obviously, that fight I was able to pull it off. But it happens in this sport in these big moments, I guess … I know when I’m in a flow state and I’m feeling good and having an amazing night. And this just wasn’t that. Look, I don’t want to sit here and make excuses. But I know I can be better.”
Asked whether he thought he’d fight his longtime YouTuber rival KSI next or seek a rematch against Tommy Fury, Paul opted for the Fury rematch.
“I think I gotta go get this one back,” Paul said. “And KSI has yet to fight a real opponent so we don’t even know his actual skill level. But obviously that’s still a massive fight. But I’m going to go back for this rematch, I just talked to Tommy back in the medical room and he’s like ‘Let’s go, let’s do it again.’ And he’s down for it. So I think that’ll be the focus first and foremost. I’m going to prove that I can go and fight a better fight than I did tonight and get that W.”
— ksi (@KSI) February 26, 2023
Following the fight, Paul and Fury had some kind words for each other in the ring.
“We just said ‘Respect.’ That was a good war, a good fight,” Paul revealed. “He was impressed by my skill. He said ‘Look, I’ve been doing this since I was six years old, and you’ve been doing it for three years and you put up a war.’ So it was cool, I love the sport for this reason: you can be enemies before hand and say all this stuff. And then when you beat the blood out of each other, at the end of the day there’s just respect there. And that’s why this sport is so cool.”
Considering he’s only been boxing for three years, does Paul feel like he’s been treated unfairly by combat sports fans?
“I’m not really sure,” he said. “After tonight, you’re going to see everyone on the internet saying ‘Ah, the first time he fought a pro boxer, he lost!’ Blah blah blah. And I get that. But I’ve definitely beaten tough opponents in a short amount of time, and I’m going to get back into the gym, continue to work on my craft and the sport of boxing. And I’ll let my performances and actions speak for me.”
For complete “Paul vs. Fury” pay-per-view results and play-by-play, click HERE!