Jake Paul claims Tommy Fury ‘wasn’t that great’ in their Saudi Arabia bout and blames jet-lag

Jake Paul has played down Tommy Fury’s victory over him in their Saudi Arabia grudge match on Sunday night, claiming he ‘wasn’t that great’ – as he offered up a handful more excuses for his defeat. 

An emotionally charged Fury held his arms aloft at the end of their showdown in Diriyah on the weekend following years of back and forth between the pair, with the former Love Island star winning by majority decision after a close fight. 

Paul had praised Fury for his win but immediately claimed he had been suffering illness and an injured arm during the build up to the fight. Now he has attempted to tone down the manner of his rival’s victory by claiming he was tired from travelling.

When asked by his brother Logan for the main reasons behind his loss on the BS w/ Jake Paul YouTube channel, he said: ‘Lots of reasons; I was sick for four weeks out of this nine-week camp and the travelling, jet-lagged for another week of that.’

Paul had come into this fight with an unblemished record of six straight wins, and the American said his first loss had ‘everything to do with me’ and not Fury, even claiming his last opponent – 41-year-old former MMA star Anderson Silva – had given him a tougher fight.

Jake Paul has attempted to play down Tommy Fury’s win over him in Saudi Arabia on Sunday 

Paul (left) and said Fury (right) ‘wasn’t that great at all’ and offered a list of excuses for his loss 

‘That’s what’s p***ing me off the most, it had nothing to do with him, it had everything to do with me,’ he added. ‘He wasn’t that great at all, I think Anderson was tougher than him and I figured out that puzzle. He threw a lot of punches, that was his biggest thing.’ 

Paul did offer some kind words for his rival – who he said he respected despite a long-running feud between the pair that saw them exchange a torrent of petty insults, calling him ‘a good kid’ and ‘down to earth’. 

‘He’s definitely blossomed,’ Paul continued. ‘He’s an overnight superstar and it’s great for him,’ he added. ‘He’s a good kid and we had a bunch of respect for each other; we spoke in the locker room and he said let’s do the rematch.

‘He seems very levelheaded and down to earth. We talked a lot of s*** and did a great job promoting it but there was mutual respect there and we hugged. 

‘I have respect for the guy, that’s the most beautiful thing about this sport. You can be arch-enemies and then find respect for each other after beating the s*** out of each other and going to war.’