Jake Paul vs. Tommy Fury fight results, highlights: Fury hands Paul his first loss with split-decision upset

Fury and Paul battled over eight grueling rounds before the fight was handed to the judges

Social media star-turned-boxer Jake Paul finally answered the calls that he face a "real boxer" on Sunday, battling Tommy Fury in an eight-round cruiserweight fight. While Paul put up a solid fight, he came up short as Fury managed to escape with a split decision victory.

Fury came out far more aggressive than he had in past fights, bringing the fight right to Paul from the opening bell. That led quickly to the first clinch of the fight.

Those clinches would be a major part of the story of the bout, with both men grabbing to break up the rhythm of their opponent or to try to create a reset to get the fight back to distance. Unfortunately, the clinching was excessive enough that the referee began to play a bigger and bigger role as the fight wore on.

After multiple warnings, the referee took a point from Paul in the fifth round. Then, he deducted a point from Fury in the sixth. Ultimately, the point deductions evened out, but it created a strange tone to the second half of the fight.

Fury's jab was a big factor throughout the fight, constantly popping Paul in the face and keeping Paul from gaining the comfort to stay in range and unload the big overhand rights that had dropped many opponents before.

Paul continued to fire back and would go through his own strong stretches when he was able to slow down Fury's pace. But heading into Round 8, it appeared Fury would be up on the scorecards and that Paul needed to make something dramatic happen to flip the script.

Paul did deliver that dramatic moment with a perfectly timed left hand as Fury stepped forward, knocking Fury off balance just enough that he touched the canvas for a knockdown. Fury was not badly hurt by the shot and battled back to the final bell, but the addition of a 10-8 round in favor of Paul added a bit of extra drama in the moments before the official scorecards were read.

Despite the knockdown, Fury took the split decision by two cards of 76-73 in his direction with a lone dissenting card reading 75-74 for Paul.

"For the past two years, this is all that has consumed my life. Broken rib. Denied access. Everybody thought I was running scared. Tonight, I made my own legacy. I am Tommy Fury," Fury said after the fight. All through these past two years, I had a dream and a vision that I would win this fight. And no one believed me. Now I can stand up and everybody can take note. It's my first main event at 23 years old. I had pressure on my shoulders, and I came through."

Paul did enter the bout with a rematch clause in place should Fury manage to pull off what was a small upset in terms of betting odds. In the ring after the fight, Paul gave Fury credit but made it clear that he intended to exercise that clause.

"All respect to Tommy, he won," Paul said. "Don't judge me by my wins, judge me by my losses. We deserve that rematch. I don't know that I agree [with the scorecards]. I got a 10-8 round twice. ... So, this is definitely a humbling experience. I'll take it on the chin and we can run it back."

"100 percent. This is my first main event, I'm only going to go stronger, I'm gonna go bigger, and I'm only gonna go better," Fury said. "There was a lot of nerves coming in here, I override that. If he wants a rematch, bring it on."

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"This is my first main event. I'm only going to get stronger, and I'm only going to get bigger. There were a lot of nerves going into that fight, but I override that. If he wants a rematch, bring it on," Fury said.

The co-main event saw a new champion crowned in the cruiserweight division as Badou Jack scored a 12th-round TKO of Ilunga Junior Makabu. The victory secured Jack a world title in a third weight division as he previously held championships in the super middleweight and light heavyweight divisions. He has now won six straight fights dating back to 2020.

 "I was standing there too much. My trainer told me to box and move," Jack said. "That's not really my style. I mean, I box. But I also like to come forward and fight. Makabu is a hell of a fighter. He's an African brother of mine. We used to be training partners. He is still my brother."

CBS Sports was with you throughout the entire way on Sunday, providing updates and analysis throughout the event. 

Fight card, results

• Tommy Fury def. Jake Paul via split decision (74-75, 76-73, 76-73)
• Badou Jack def. Ilunga Junior Makabu (c) via 12th-round TKO
  
• Ziyad Almaayouf def. Ronald Martinez via unanimous decision (38-37, 38-37, 38-37)
  
• Muhsin Cason def. Taryel Jafarov via first-round TKO (corner stoppage)
  
• Bader Samreen def. Viorel Simion via first-round knockout

Paul vs. Fury scorecard, live coverage

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	Total
Paul	9	9	10	9	9	9	9	10	74
Fury	10	10	9	10	9	9	10	8	75

[Feb 26, 2023 at 6:08 pm ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Official result: Tommy Fury def. Jake Paul via split decision (75-74, 73-76, 73-76)

[Feb 26, 2023 at 6:04 pm ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Jake Paul vs. Tommy Fury -- Round 8: Both men came out hard but Fury got the better of it before a Paul right hand sent Fury to the canvas. Fury quickly back to his feet and complained about the knockdown call. Fury backed Paul up to the ropes and landed another right hand. Fury landed another good flurry and Paul clinched to break up the action. After a good flurry from Fury, Paul landed another right hand. That knockdown was huge for Paul. Unofficial scorecard: 10-8 Paul (75-74 Fury)

[Feb 26, 2023 at 6:00 pm ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Jake Paul vs. Tommy Fury -- Round 7: Both men threw hard in the opening moments of the round. The fight very much up for grabs in these final two rounds. Paul stalked forward and was tagged a few times by Fury. Paul landed a hard overhand right. Paul landed two good right hands before another clinch. Both men landed good left hands but the round saw a ton more clinching. Fury suffered a cut over his left eye in the round. Unofficial scorecard: 10-9 Fury (67-64)

[Feb 26, 2023 at 5:56 pm ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Jake Paul vs. Tommy Fury -- Round 6: Paul landed a good left hand in the early moments. Fury landed a right and then another jab. Fury landed another uppercut. Fury landed a few more right hands as the two fighters continued to tie up frequently. The referee has now deducted a point from Fury, though again it was unclear what for. Paul landed one more hook and a good flurry in return from Fury at the bell. Unofficial scorecard: 9-9 (57-55 Fury)

[Feb 26, 2023 at 5:52 pm ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Jake Paul vs. Tommy Fury -- Round 5: Paul popped out an effective jab early in the round, landing a few times. Paul landed an overhand right but Fury came right back with his own solid right hand. The referee deducted a point from Paul something in the clinch. A big left landed for Paul and Fury seemed a bit shaken but Paul got tied up before he could follow up. Paul landed another good jab. Paul again landed a good jab and a hook to the body. Fury landed a solid right hand. That point deduction looms large in this fight. Unofficial scorecard: 9-9 (48-46 Fury)

[Feb 26, 2023 at 5:47 pm ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Jake Paul vs. Tommy Fury -- Round 4: Fury opened trying to get his jab going again and then threw a good flurry of lopping punches, followed by another flurry moments later. Fury landed a good right hand and a few more as he charged forward. Paul was struggling to find anything in the round with Fury getting off his punches without much coming in return. Paul landed a good left hook and tried to get the right hand in after. Fury did a good job of clinching up when Paul would close distance but then Fury turned him and punched him in the back of the head. Unofficial scorecard: 10-9 Fury (39-37)

[Feb 26, 2023 at 5:43 pm ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Jake Paul vs. Tommy Fury -- Round 3: Paul landed a left hook and a jab to back up Fury for a moment. Another Paul jab landed well and he tried to charge Fury but got tied up. Paul landed two more stiff jabs and a left hook. Fury landed a few of his own jabs before Paul landed another good hook. Fury's moment had slowed a bit in the round and Paul landed a good overhand right. Another solid Paul jab landed and he closed out his best round of the fight. Unofficial scorecard: 10-9 Paul (29-28 Fury)

[Feb 26, 2023 at 5:39 pm ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Jake Paul vs. Tommy Fury -- Round 2: Fury immediately back t the jab, moving and trying to just out-slick Paul. Fury with a very solid jab again that landed to the face of Paul. Paul landed twice to the body and landed a good left hand but Fury landed his own chopping right hand. Fury continued to pop off solid jabs and straight punches. Paul missed with a big overhand right but he did land a solid jab after. Paul missed a right and ate one from Fury in return. Unofficial scorecard: 10-9 Fury (20-18)

[Feb 26, 2023 at 5:35 pm ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Jake Paul vs. Tommy Fury -- Round 1: Both men pawed with jabs in the early seconds before Fury tried to rush Paul against the ropes. Paul picked up Fury and the referee had to speak to both men. They repeatedly ended up in the clinch early as the referee was again forced to try and settle both men down. Fury stuck three quick jabs in Paul's face before Paul threw a jab to the body. Again they clinched after Fury threw a few jabs. Paul landed an overhand right and Fury stepped in. Paul was bending over at the waist frequently as he stepped in. Paul landed a left hook late in the round but Fury's jab may have taken the round as they flurry to the bell. Unofficial scorecard: 10-9 Fury

[Feb 26, 2023 at 5:30 pm ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Ring walks? Done (though not without some mind games by Paul as he left Fury to wait in the ring). National Anthems? Done. Fighter introductions? Done. It's fight time!

[Feb 26, 2023 at 5:15 pm ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Jake Paul and Tommy Fury are making their ring walks. We are mere minutes from the rivalry finally coming to a head inside the boxing ring.

[Feb 26, 2023 at 4:56 pm ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Jack's triumph means it's time to get ready for the main event. Jake Paul vs. Tommy Fury in an eight-round fight at a 185-pound catchweight. We're about to learn a lot about both men.

[Feb 26, 2023 at 4:51 pm ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Ilunga Junior Makabu (c) vs. Badou Jack -- Round 12: Makabu came out trying to connect with something big but Jack was able to avoid any sort of shot that could stop Jack. Makabu landed a few but a Jack right hand sent Makabu stumbling into the ropes. Jack flurried away with punches against the ropes, forcing the referee to jump in. Tremendous stuff from Jack as he captures a world title at cruiserweight. Official result: Badou Jack def. Ilunga Junior Makabu via TKO, Round 11 to win the WBC cruiserweight championship

[Feb 26, 2023 at 4:48 pm ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Ilunga Junior Makabu (c) vs. Badou Jack -- Round 11: Makabu flailed with right hands that missed over and over before Jack cracked him with a single shot, sending Makabu to the canvas for the second time in the fight. Makabu is so brutally overmatched at this point that it seems unlikely there's any chance Makabu can find a Hail Mary comeback shot.