Jake Paul blames ‘illness’ and an ‘arm injury’ for his loss to Tommy Fury

Jake Paul told the boxing world to judge him on how he responds to defeat after losing against Tommy Fury – and then made excuses of illness and injury for his loss in Saudi Arabia.

The 26-year-old was heavily booed by the crowd as he claimed his performance was flat because of issues he experienced in his training camp that he had not mentioned until now.

Paul lost to fury via split decision in Saudi Arabia on Sunday night – with one judge scoring it 75-74 to Paul and the other two scoring it 76-73 to Fury. 

The YouTuber-turned-boxer also said he disagreed with the judges’ scores after the  showdown. However, he did admit it was a ‘close fight’. 

Speaking in the ring directly afterward, Paul said: ‘All respect to Tommy, he won. Don’t judge me by my wins, judge me by my losses.

‘I’ll come back and I think we deserve the rematch. It was a great fight, a close fight. I don’t know if I agree with the judges. 

‘I got a 10-8 round twice. It is what it is but I’ve already won in life. I’ve won in every single way, I have amazing family, amazing friends and an amazing work ethic. 

‘Honestly, I felt flat. I got sick really bad twice in this camp, injured my arm, so it wasn’t my best performance,’ he said before immediately insisting he was beaten by the better man.

‘But I lost – I’m not making excuses. I’m just saying, it wasn’t my best performance, I felt a little flat and like I said, we’re going to come back and get that W.’

He finished by saying: ‘Don’t judge me by my wins, judge my by my losses – I’m going to come back stronger.’ 

The fans in Saudi Arabia were furious with Paul’s excuses and booed him while he gave his post-fight interview. 

Paul then filmed a video from inside his locker room that he posted on social media promptly after his defeat.

‘Well, s***,’ he said laughing. ‘Didn’t think I’d ever have to make one of these videos! S*** happens, I guess.

‘This is still the best job in the world. Thank you all for the support, this was an amazing event and I’ll be back.’

Fury, for his part, was respectful to Paul in victory. 

‘Jake Paul took some good shots – he’s a far better boxer than I thought he was,’ Fury said. ‘This is my first main event. If he wants a rematch, bring it on.

‘I fought Jake Paul and I come out and won. He was a lot tougher than I thought he was going to be – there’s no way people can’t say he’s a proper boxer. He was game, he kept coming.’

Reflecting on his career to date after tasting defeat for the first time, Paul added: ‘This is definitely a humbling experience. 

‘I’ve made it further than I ever thought that I would, and beyond.’

Paul also tweeted: ‘Don’t judge me by my wins, judge me by my losses. Congrats to Tommy, his team and his family. Thank you to everyone that tuned in. Saudi Arabia thank you as well. I will be back.’