At the Diriyah Arena in Saudi Arabia on February 26, Jake Paul lost to Tommy Fury for the first time in his professional career. After slugging it out with the Englishman for eight rounds, “The Trouble Child” lost by a split decision.
Hector Afu, the third participant in the battle, received harsh criticism for his overbearing style. The WBC Referee of the Year not only penalised both combatants for relatively minor infractions, but also repeatedly stopped the clock.
John McCarthy, a veteran UFC official, thought Afu was inexperienced throughout the entire contest. McCarthy recently stated on the show Weighing In:
“It was humiliating. You’re conducting a professional battle like a novice referee. There is a difference in it before they adapt to it. And, wow, did he screw that up. Stop first with the point reductions themselves! Jake Paul didn’t do anything wrong, so you shouldn’t interfere with the fight if you don’t have to. He was struck in the back of the head by Tommy Fury. I apologise, but you were the weak link in this entire contest. Indeed, all you did was go beyond what was necessary.”
Deontay Wilder blames referee for Jake Paul’s loss against Tommy Fury
As the bout went on, Jake Paul put on a strong performance blocking Tommy Fury’s assault, but “The Trouble Child” hardly scored any of his own. Paul did manage to knock Fury down once throughout the fight, but he was able to get back up quickly.
Deontay Wilder, a former heavyweight world champion, thinks “The Trouble Child” evened the score with his knockdown in the final round. The fifth-round point deduction, which ‘The Bronze Bomber’ thinks was ‘immature,’ is the only reason why Paul’s scorecards were tipped against him, according to him.
While Paul was fined for gripping Fury’s neck, according to Wilder, there had to have been more cautions before that. The man, 37, stated to Fight Hub TV:
“I believe Jake nailed that one. That referee was a childish take. I believe that when Jake Paul received the knockdown, that evened things out. I believe he merely gave it to Fury in order to make his point. It was an immature point; the referee was supposed to issue at least three warnings, but he only issued one. Leave the area immediately. Jake Paul should have won, in my opinion. He sealed the deal with the knockdown, but the fight was competitive the entire time.”
