Paul loses first boxing match; contemplates move to Jiu-Jitsu

Did Tommy Fury prove Jake Paul’s critics right?

On February 26, controversial social media star and professional boxer Jake Paul put his undefeated streak on the line against professional boxer and reality television star Tommy Fury in a much-anticipated bout in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia. Paul and Fury went to war for all eight rounds until a decision had to be made. Two out of the three judges scored in favor of Fury giving him the victory via split decision, marking Paul’s first defeat in his professional boxing career.

Following the end of his undefeated streak, many of Paul’s critics believe they have been proven right due to the majority of his opponents being either inexperienced, past their primes or both. Paul’s first few professional opponents were relatively new to boxing, such as former National Basketball Association player Nate Robinson or mixed martial artists such as Ben Askren and Tyron Woodley. Also, Paul is in his mid-twenties and the majority of his opponents were significantly older than him. His victory against former Ultimate Fighting Championship Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva in September 2022 was especially criticized for the age gap between the two. At the time, Paul was 25 years old and Silva was 47 years old. Critics of the bout argued that at 47, Silva was past his prime and was too old of an opponent for someone nearly half his age.

Whether you agree or disagree with the critics, Fury was Paul’s first opponent with a strong background in professional boxing and was also Paul’s first opponent in his age group at 23 years old. It can be argued that these facts factored heavily into Fury handing Paul his first loss.

What’s next for Jake Paul? Well, it seems that Paul could potentially be on his way out of professional boxing and on to mixed martial arts. At the beginning of this year, it was announced that Paul has signed a multi-year contract with Professional Fighters League. In anticipation of his MMA debut, he has begun training in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. It’s been reported by Jits Magazine that Paul was having training sessions with Abu Dhabi Combat Club Submission Fighting World Championship head organizer Mo Jassin and ATOS Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Michael Perez.

It will be interesting to see where Paul takes his combat sports career from here following his first professional boxing loss, but it seems that there is no lack of options.

By: Evan Majors