If you thought yesterday’s Floyd Mayweather exhibition card was the pinnacle of boxing this weekend, man, it’s time for the main event. We’ve got Jake Paul: YouTube and social media sensation who has knocked out former mixed martial arts (MMA) world champions. We’ve got Tommy Fury: half-brother of heavyweight champion Tyson Fury and undefeated (8-0) professional boxer. We’ve got Jake Paul fighting his first professional boxer, everybody!
The Paul vs. Fury ESPN+ pay-per-view (PPV) main card — which will emanate from inside Diriyah Arena in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia, this afternoon (Sun., Feb. 26, 2023) — gets underway at 2 p.m. ET (11 a.m. PT) and costs $49.99 to stream (watch it here). Odds available at DraftKings Sportsbook.
It’s almost shocking that this fight hasn’t somehow fallen apart again, as this is the third attempt at booking this marquee match up. The first time, Fury pulled out due to an illness, which led to MMA’s own Tyron Woodley stepping up to rematch Paul. Spoiler: it ended poorly for “The Chosen One”. The second time, Fury was unable to get a visa to the United States because of relations with the sanctioned Kinahan crime syndicate.
But we’re here. They’re there. In Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Fists will fly. They already nearly did!
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LIVE! Watch ‘Paul Vs. Fury’ On PPV
THE TRUTH! International superstar and serial risk-taker, Jake “The Problem Child” Paul, will face the biggest challenge of his budding combat sports career when he takes on his first-ever professional boxer, Tommy “TNT” Fury, inside Diriyah Arena in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia, streaming live on ESPN pay-per-view (PPV). “Paul vs. Fury,” which will also feature WBC Cruiserweight kingpin, Ilunga Makabu, battling former WBC and WBA champion, Badou Jack, in the co-main event, special start time is slated for 2 p.m. ET, with a PPV price tag of $49.99.
Paul Vs. Fury Quick Results:
Jake Paul vs. Tommy Fury
Ilunga Makabu vs. Badou Jack
Bader Samreen def. Viorel Simion — TKO (1:26, round 1) — HIGHLIGHTS!
Muhsin Cason def. Taryel Jafarov — TKO (3:00, round 1)
Ziyad Almaayouf vs. Ronnald Martinez — DEC (Unanimous 38-37 x3)
Ashton Sylve vs. Maxwell Awuku
Adam Saleh vs. Stuart Kellogg
Jake Paul vs. Tommy Fury Play-By-Play Updates:
Jake Paul vs. Tommy Fury
Round 1:
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Round 10:
FINAL RESULT:
Ilunga Makabu (Champion) vs. Badou Jack
Round 1: Makabu black and yellow, Jack in gold. Slow start in this 12-rounder. Makabu clips in a winging right. Jack with a shot to the breadbasket. Makabu responds back to the body. Might’ve been a hair low. Jack jabbing, Makabu slipping. Quiet round, could be 10-10.
10-9 Jack
Round 2: Another slow start with these men mostly fighting on the outside. Jack is a bit longer and lands to the body. 1-2 from Jack. And a right that seems to wobble Makabu a little. Jack mostly circling to his left and landing the jab outside the guard. There’s a left straight from Makabu. He goes on the offense at the sound of the clapper and forces Jack onto the back foot.
10-9 Jack
Round 3: Makabu ducks down and just kinda stays there. That gives Jack an opportunity to throw and land an uppercut. Badou lands another little short, shovel hook as Makabu stays low. Makabu aggressive now and gets some back. Two lefts near the liver land for Makabu. Jab to the body and a right hook upstairs from the champion. Jack getting hit cleaner now. Good right hand by Makabu. Jack fires back and gets a little of that traffic back. Makabu keeps ducking and Jack keeps landing that low right.
10-9 Makabu
Round 4: Makabu backing up Jack with a flicking jab. Both men with shots around the beltline. Makabu to the body as Jack circles away from the power hand. There’s a nice combo from Jack who gets a good shot to the right side of the ribs at the end of it. There’s a right hand and Makabu gets sent ass over skates! Makabu literally somersaulted back from that big right. Makabu seems back in it and is back to what he was doing before the knockdown.
Replays show that Jack got his left leg behind Makabu’s knee as the shot land, which severely off-balanced him, more than it being a thunderous punch that sent him overboard.
10-8 Jack
Round 5: Jack 1-2. Makabu to the body of the circling challenger. Makabu landing wide right hands around the guard of Jack. He went to the body with a left there and was very lazy out of it, but Jack didn’t throw anything to make him pay. Nice left uppercut/shovel hook from Makabu gets in clean. Makabu throws a straight left that lands just short. Rights from both men. Makabu walking forward and getting in a few half-power shots.
10-9 Makabu
Round 6: Clean right from Jack. There’s one from Makabu. Good jab by Jack. Makabu with two lefts to the body. Jack with a body shot as well. Makabu with two rights, Jack gets one back. Rights from both men. Makabu comes forward at the end and gets in a clean left in a combo.
10-9 Makabu
Round 7: Jack with a pair of 1-2s. Body-body by Makabu. Makabu throws one that looks like it hit the thigh of Jack. And same from the other man. Jack on the offensive all of a sudden. He gets in a right hand and Makabu is backing up. Makabu with a double jab. Jack trying to bait something, but he’s eating so many half-power shots from Makabu as he’s trying to figure out his opening. There’s two rights to the body from Badou. Makabu hits an overhand.
10-9 Jack
Round 8:
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FINAL RESULT:
Ziyad Almaayouf vs. Ronnald Martinez
Round 1: Almaayouf in black, gold and green, Martinez in black and red. Home crowd cheering madly for young Ziyad. Martinez lands first, Almaayouf quickly returns fire. Both men firing, Martinez clinches and the ref separates. Straight right hits for Almaayouf. There’s a hook, too. Martinez gets backed into the corner and has to swing out of it. Gets in a short right. Both men get rights in. There’s a solid right hand from Martinez that drops Almaayouf! They were throwing at the same time, but Martinez was just a bit quicker. Almaayouf is up and lands a nice right of his own.
10-8 Martinez
Round 2: Almaayouf with a double jab, Martinez responds with a 1-2. Almaayouf cracks in a left. Right from the Ecuadorian. Martinez ducks into the chest of Almaayouf and throws a 3-2. Martinez tried an uppercut, but Almaayouf was out of range. Martinez walks into a jab and looks like a Pez dispenser.
10-9 Almaayouf
Round 3: Martinez gets in a right on the break. Quadruple jab and a right for Martinez, who wears every shot well. Left by Martinez, right by Almaayouf. Clean right crashes into Martinez’s cheek, but he’s wearing it well so far. Martinez with a pair of rights, and Almaayouf answers with one of his own. Martinez hasn’t landed any of these uppercuts, but he still throws a few of them each round, perhaps just to keep Almaayouf honest.
10-9 Almaayouf
Round 4: Almaayouf bashes Martinez back into a corner, lands a couple of nice shots. Martinez with a left. Almaayouf hits one to the back of the head and that draws a caution from the ref. Triple jab and a right to the body by Almaayouf. Lovely straight left whips back Martinez’s head. Martinez gets a right in, but so does Almaayouf. 3-2 by Almaayouf. Both men throwing and landing here in the final 15 seconds.
10-9 Almaayouf
FINAL RESULT: Ziyad Almaayouf def. Ronnald Martinez by unanimous decision 38-37 x3
Bader Samreen vs. Viorel Simion
Round 1: Simion in black and red, Samreen in white. Simion ducking the jabs from Samreen. Samreen gets in a left to the body. Simion closes the range and starts to fire from the pocket, but it’s Samreen that’s landing better. There’s a right, and another. That second put Simion on wobbly legs and an left uppercut mushes him down to the canvas at 1:45. He beats the count, but decides that was enough of that and concedes.
FINAL RESULT: Bader Samreen def. Viorel Simion via KO (Rd. 1, 1:26) – WATCH HIGHLIGHTS!
Muhsin Cason vs. Taryel Jafarov
Round 1: Jafarov in white and gold, Cason in red. Cason with a big right hand that drops Jafarov immediately. Jafarov comes back firing, but he’s still a bit unsteady. Cason with a couple jabs. Three more, none at full speed. Jafarov ducks a big right. Cason backs Jafarov into a corner and he’s just covering up as Cason swings away, but with some patience. Cason with two rights to the body.
10-8 Cason
Round 2: Whelp, Jafarov’s corner wasn’t feeling it and stopped it in between the rounds. That’s that.
FINAL RESULT: Muhsin Cason def. Taryel Jafarov via TKO (Rd. 1, 3:00)
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