Jake Paul faces choice over whether he is a boxer or an entertainer following first loss

In the ring after his first loss in the boxing ring, Jake Paul said that he would “100%” want to activate the rematch clause for another hit on Tommy Fury. It was an understandable statement. Paul was competitive in the eight-round fight, even winning the fight on one of the three official scorecards. However, the idea of ​​immediately returning to the ring with Fury, taken out of a fever, may not be the best option for Paul.

This loss no doubt hurt Paul deeply. Fighting Fury was both an attempt to answer criticism for never facing a “real boxer” and a real rivalry, with both men spitting caustic nonsense for almost two years before finally facing off.

Failure, even with a single knockdown in a fight, will be a heavy burden for Paul, and now he has had to endure even more criticism and claims that his boxing career has always been a sham built on confronting unskilled opponents and faded mixed martial arts. stars.

Fury is a handicapped fighter himself, which only exacerbates questions about the long-term viability of Paul’s boxing career. However, as limited as Fury is, he is slightly better than the level of competition that many seasoned amateur boxers (but not Paul) face in his seventh pro fight.

For reference, Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s seventh opponent was Tony Duran, who went into the fight 12-15-1 and in the series 0-9-1. Shane Mosley fought Paulino Gonzalez 1-3, who retired 2-18.

Paul’s ceiling had never been as high as these men’s, but he clearly took a risk facing an opponent who was at the same level and spent much more time in the boxing gym. This risk did not pay off, but it must be taken into account when determining how Paul can move on after his first defeat.

There is still money to be made from continuing to enter the ring, but now Paul has a big decision to make about what shape his fighting career will take.

Pride and rivalry will likely make Paul want to take advantage of the rematch clause and step back into the ring with Fury. But Fury was the top boxer on Sunday and by a pretty clear margin. Paul had his moments of success and didn’t look completely out of his element, but the overall difference in skill was clear and showed Fury needed to use a little more than his jab to keep Paul from getting used to the fight.

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A second loss to Fury will almost certainly stop Paul’s money train. And Fury would have been a significant favorite in the rematch given that Paul’s late knockdown was the result of a jab that knocked Fury off balance, not a demonstration that Fury was really affected by his strength.

Paul still has a lot of options to cash in on besides a rematch with Fury. But there is one that stands out as the biggest box office attraction and is also an option that will show that Paul’s priority has completely shifted from his repeated goals to be a legitimate champion-level boxer to become solely in entertainment.

A fight with fellow social media star turned boxer KSI is about as much discussed as both men turn their attention to boxing. KSI was quick to celebrate the loss of Paul on social media.

KSI also won a split decision victory in 2019 over Jake’s brother Logan Paul. This adds an extra layer to the rivalry, although the fact that KSI also co-owns the sports drink Prime along with Logan must be ignored to fully believe the legitimacy of their shared hatred.

KSI vs. Jake Paul is a big money fight, just like KSI vs. Logan Paul. The fight sold 12,000 seats at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, attracting celebrity attention and interest from all over the world.

After the fight with Logan Paul, KSI had several exhibition fights, co-founding the Misfits Boxing promotion. On August 27, the same night, he defeated British artist Swarmz and professional boxer Luis Alcaraz Pineda 2-5. He was then scheduled to fight MMA fighter Dillon Danis on January 14, but Denis pulled out of the fight, leaving KSI to deal with esports quickly and YouTube personality FaZe Temperrr.

Paul must now choose which of the two roads to take. One of them, fighting Fury in a rematch, represents the biggest risk, but also the biggest chance to keep trying to prove he’s a real boxer. Another, a fight with a different “personality” like KSI is an easier fight and more money, but pretty much represents the end of any specter of hope Paul has ever pushed into competition as a higher-level professional boxer.

While Fury’s first fight was labeled “The Truth,” the ultimate truth may come from the direction Paul chose to take after his first loss.