Jake Paul has opened up on a post-fight conversation that he had with Tommy Fury after losing to the Briton in the pair’s boxing match on Sunday.
YouTuber-turned-boxer Paul suffered a split-decision loss to Fury – half-brother of heavyweight champion Tyson – in Saudi Arabia, marking the American’s first defeat in the sport.
Meanwhile, Briton Fury remained unbeaten with the win, after which he broke down in tears during his in-ring interview.
Paul, 26, and Fury, 23, later had a conversation in one of the pair’s locker rooms at the Diriyah Arena, a moment that Paul has since discussed on his BS w/Jake Paul podcast.
“He’s definitely blossomed, overnight superstar, it’s great for him,” Paul said of Fury.
“I think he’s a good kid, we had a bunch of respect for each other spoken in the locker room. He said, ‘Let’s do the rematch.’
“He seems very level headed and down to earth. We both kind of were just like, ‘Yeah, we talked a lot of s***, built this fight up, did a great job promoting it.’
“There was a mutual respect there. We hugged, talked about everything. I have respect for the guy; I think that’s the most beautiful thing about this sport: You can be arch-enemies and then find a respect for each other after beating the s*** out of each other and going to war.
“It’s definitely really cool, I’m happy for him for sure.”
Paul entered the fight with a 6-0 professional record, having knocked out former mixed martial arts champions Tyron Woodley and Ben Askren, and having most recently beaten UFC legend Anderson Silva on points. Meanwhile, Fury – who is best known as a former Love Island contestant – was 8-0 ahead of Sunday’s main event.
Paul, reflecting on his first loss, said: “What’s p***ing me off the most is that it had nothing to do with [Fury], it had everything to do with me.
“He wasn’t that great at all. I think Anderson was tougher than him, and I figured out that puzzle.
“[Fury] threw a lot of punches, that was his biggest thing. [His power] is good, it’s good; it’s whatever.”
Paul also reiterated his post-fight claim that he had suffered from illness in the lead-up to the fight.
“I was sick for four weeks out of this nine-week camp, and then was travelling and jet-lagged for like another week out of that,” he said.
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