By Charles Brun: In a sad statement about the sport, the WBC has officially given Tommy Fury a ranking at #39 following his narrow eight round split decision win over YouTuber/social media influencer Jake Paul on February 26th in Saudi Arabia.
Tommy was dropped in the eighth round by Jake and spent most of the fight tying up in bearhugs whenever he got close. It wasn’t boxing. It was spoiling 101.
The WBC’s decision to give Tommy Fury a top 40 ranking after beating Youtuber Jake Paul validates the celebrity boxing movement and lowers the sport’s credibility.
Ideally, the WBC should have waited until Tommy beat a real fighter ranked in the top tier of the cruiserweight division before giving Fury a #39 ranking.
No one would criticize the WBC for giving Tommy Fury a top-tier ranking had beaten one of these contenders at cruiserweight:
- Richard Riakporhe
- Mairis Briedis
- Noel Gevor
- Sergey Kovalev
- Chris Billam-Smith
This makes the WBC look bad in the process, like a lesser sanctioning body that is ready to rank even mediocre fighters with no talent whatsoever.
What there should be is a special YouTuber/celebrity boxing league that is separate from professional boxing. If it were compartmentalized and fans were informed that it’s a different sport, it wouldn’t taint real boxing the way it is now.
The YouTubers/celebrity league could have their own rankings, so fans wouldn’t have an issue with how they are with Tommy being ranked by the WBC.
It’s a meaningless ranking, considering Tommy Fury reportedly has no plans on fighting any legitimate boxers. His dad, John Fury, is interested in the rematch with Jake Paul. After that, Tommy will likely face another Youtuber, KSI.
The 23-year-old Tommy (9-0, 4 KOs) is ranked just ahead of #40 Viddal Riley, which this writer has no issue with. Riley is thoroughly unimpressive, but still, Fury looked horrible from round one to eight.
For the most part, Tommy spoiled all night, clinching Jake nonstop and running around the ring. The referee finally got sick of the holding & grappling from Tommy Fury and took a point off, but he should have made multiple deductions.
Fury will be facing Jake in a rematch that will take place in the summer at a still-to-be-determined date & location. I won’t be surprised if it winds up in the Middle East again. Like last time, the Fury vs. Paul rematch will surely be on pay-per-view.