WBC confirms Tommy Fury will enter cruiserweight rankings after win over Jake Paul
Tommy Fury is officially going to be a ranked fighter after his return yesterday (February 26). 'TNT' returned to the boxing ring yesterday in Saudi Arabia against Jake Paul. While the two are relatively novice boxers, they still have the eyes of the boxing world on them and have garnered the attention of the WBC.
The council run by Mauricio Sulaiman decided to put a ceremonial championship on the line and added bigger stakes during fight week. WBC revealed that Jake Paul would be added to the cruiserweight rankings if he won. While reports indicated he could be ranked in the top 15, they quickly clarified that wouldn't be the case.
Lost in all the talk of the YouTuber-turned-boxer being ranked is that Tommy Fury has a good chance of winning the contest. In the end, that's exactly what happened. Despite being the underdog and many counting him out, the British star wound up winning by decision.
While the council didn't reveal if Fury would be ranked with a win, that appears to be the case. Earlier today, the WBC put out a press release recapping Sunday's fight, where they also confirmed that the Brit would be ranked.
The release read:
"Englishman Tommy “TNT” Fury, younger brother of WBC Heavyweight Champion Tyson Fury, defeated American boxer and YouTuber Jake Paul by split decision this Sunday at the Diriyah Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia..."
"Tommy prevailed on two scorecards of the Judges 76-73 and 76-73 and the third saw Paul lead 75-74.With this win, Fury will be ranked in the World Boxing Council’s cruiserweight division, improving his record to 9-0, with 4 knockouts."
See the release below:
#FightRecap: Fury defeats Paul wbcboxing.com/en/fury-defeat… https://t.co/kMC81ZrpCI
Will Tommy Fury and Jake Paul fight again?
While Tommy Fury is likely thrilled with his WBC ranking, the job isn't finished. 'TNT' prevailed by split-decision against 'The Problem Child' on Sunday night. While many felt that Fury won the bout in lopsided fashion, save for a last-round knockdown from Paul, that doesn't mean we're not going to see this fight again.
Prior to the contest, it was revealed that the YouTuber had a rematch clause put into the contract for if he lost. Fury didn't have the clause, meaning that if Paul prevailed, the rivalry would likely be over.
Instead, Tommy Fury pulled off an upset, which means a second outing is likely to come this summer. In the post-fight press conference, Jake Paul confirmed his plans to activate the rematch clause, setting the stage for a second clash.
Jake Paul says he will activate the Tommy Fury rematch clause before fighting KSI… https://t.co/sEgi9KELSw