BOXING

Jake Paul’s unlikely journey from YouTuber to professional boxer hit a major speed bump when he suffered a split-decision loss to Tommy Fury in Saudi Arabia on Sunday. After bouts against three former UFC fighters, a fellow YouTuber and a former NBA Slam Dunk Contest champion, criticism that Paul had yet to face a “real” boxer started to come down hard across the boxing community.

EXCLUSIVE — The effect of the pandemic on sport in early 2020 could not have come at a worse time for one of the best Muay Thai fighters in the UK.

It’s rare for a matchup that’s billed as a Fight of Year contender to actually deliver on that promise, but that’s exactly what transpired when Mexico’s Luis Nery scored a spectacular 11th-round stoppage of Azat Hovhannisyan at the Fox Theater Pomona in California.

The third time will be the charm for Jake Paul and Tommy Fury, as the rivals will finally face off inside a boxing ring. It is YouTuber vs. Boxer in a battle for the ultimate bragging rights on February 26.

Tim Tszyu’s opponent Tony Harrison has likened the Aussie to someone he’d fight in a park ahead of their WBO interim super-welterweight world title bout on March 12. The pair will square off in just under six weeks’ time after Harrison answered the call to face Tszyu following an injury to original opponent and undisputed champion Jermell Charlo.