Tommy Fury has been handed a ranking of 39 in the WBC cruiserweight rankings after defeating YouTube star Jake Paul.
The British star finally settled his bitter grudge with influencer Paul in Saudi Arabia last month, boxing his way to a split-decision win to halt his rival's undefeated run. Fury went into the contest as the marginal underdog despite his experience in the ring, which was a key factor in his performance which saw him move to nine wins as a professional.
Prior to the showdown, it had been confirmed the winner would be placed in the WBC rankings at cruiserweight providing they win the fight in the Middle East. And Fury now finds himself at the bottom end of the standings, placed one above fellow domestic star Viddal Riley who also has a prominent YouTube account.
Fury took the traditional boxing route prior to his win over Paul and had eight wins to his name against limited opposition, as well as competing in an exhibition clash with Rolly Lambert late last year. For now, it appears the ex-Love Island star will remain fighting influencers given the opportunity of higher pay and increased stardom.
Fury has a number of options on the table following his win, including against influencer KSI or TikTok star Salt Papi. It is likely that his next outing will be an immediate sequel against Paul, given the 'Problem Child' has the opportunity to activate an immediate rematch clause in their existing contract.
Paul stated after the final bell that he intends to activate it and believes he has the capabilities of avenging the loss in summer this year. However the YouTuber surprisingly believes that his rival did not do enough to win outside of his own poor performance.
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"Tommy didn't win the fight, I lost it. I was not good, I was not on my A-game. I didn't implement the gameplan, my legs were weak going into the fight. I think I cut the weight improperly in such like a seven-week camp as normally we do a 12-week camp. We squeezed in this camp, but I don't want to sit here and make excuses," Paul said on Impaulsive.
"I lost the fight, I wasn't at my best and it's that simple. I think a little bit of pressure is good but I had a lot of pressure and the stakes kept getting higher and higher each fight. Now there is definitely more relaxation going into the next one. A lot of things played into the [loss], even getting a point deducted in the beginning of the fight.
"I don't know, it's the hardest sport in the world and you have to have a peak moment. I was flat, very very flat. I beat him like eight to nine times out of ten, this just happened one of those times. He stepped up to the plate."
