Jake Paul has confirmed his intention to exercise a rematch clause for a second lucrative meeting with arch-rival Tommy Fury as he lamented a disrupted build-up to the fight.
YouTuber-turned-fighter Paul battled a professional boxer for the first time in a long-awaited grudge match in Saudi Arabia on Sunday night, securing a late knockdown but still losing via split decision on the judges’ scorecards.
It marked the first defeat of his in-ring career, having previously moved to 6-0 with victories over fellow internet celebrities and ageing former MMA champions.
The usually brash Paul was unexpectedly magnanimous in defeat, admitting he had lost the fight but asking questions of the scoring after losing by three points on two of the three cards despite the knockdown, which Fury later insisted was a slip. Both fighters also had a point deducted during the contest for punching to the back of the head and holding respectively.
“Run it back, 100 per cent,” Paul said when asked if he intended to trigger the one-sided rematch clause in his favour that existed in the fight contract.
“All respect to Tommy, he won, don’t judge me by my wins, judge me by my losses,” he added.
“I’ll come back, I thought I deserve that rematch, it was a great fight, a close fight.
“I’ve already won every single way in life. I made it farther than I ever thought I would, and beyond. This is a humbling experience. I’ll take it on the chin and come back.”
Paul also revealed in his post-fight interview that two bouts of illness and an arm injury had seriously hampered his preparations for the fight with Fury.
“I felt flat,” he said. “I got sick really bad twice in this camp, and injured my arm. But I lost, I’m not making excuses. It wasn’t my best performance.”
