Drake Forfeits $400k as Jake Paul Loses Boxing Match to Tommy Fury

Drake lost a $400,000 bet as Tommy Fury defeated Jake Paul via split decision in a boxing match in Saudi Arabia Sunday night local time.

Paul entered the fight with a 6-0 professional record, which included wins over MMA stars Tyron Woodley, Ben Askren, and most recently, Anderson Silva. He was a small favorite at legal sportsbooks but a large favorite in pre-fight trash talk to defeat Fury, the younger half-brother of heavyweight champion Tyson Fury.

Both Drake—who stood to gain $1.4 million if his pick won via knockout—and Paul will rue their big losses from the weekend. But while Paul will be out of the ring for a while, it’s a safe assumption Drake will have another six-seven-figure bet down soon enough.

Paul’s rise from a Disney channel star to a professional boxer has taken time. He joined the combat scene with a debut event against British YouTuber “Deji” and later earned his pro card.

Since then, he has fought YouTuber AnEsonGib, retired NBA Slam Dunk Contest champion Nate Robinson, and the aforementioned MMA veterans. The difficulty of his opponents has scaled up the longer that he has been in the ring.

Sunday’s match against Fury represented his greatest challenge inside the ropes, although many believed that he was still a shoo-in for a victory. Even British YouTuber KSI, brother of Deji whom Paul has had a longstanding feud with and is expected to fight in the future, revealed that he placed a bet on the American to defeat his countryman.

Make sure you win mate @jakepaul. I need to make as much money as possible for when I get to knock you out myself pic.twitter.com/lkgHS7R0AI

— ksi (@KSI) February 25, 2023

The contest was closely fought. Paul showed his game plan to batter Fury with sweeping hooks and overhands from the first moments but neglected his defense. Fury was able to exploit those gaps with nice combinations and a steady diet of jabs.

Paul landed a few nice shots on Fury, including a stiff jab knockdown in the final round, but the former was able to keep stepping forward until the bitter end.

The two shared a moment of embrace once the decision had been announced. Fury declared his respect for a dejected Paul, who couldn’t muster more than a few words.

Fury, 23, is now 9-0 in his professional career. He said that he has dreams of becoming a world champion and is well on the path to doing just that.

Tyson Fury joked after the fight that he and Drake both drew the short end of the stick Sunday night.

“We’re two losers,” Fury, who bet on his half-brother to win by knockout, said after the fight.

One of the most interesting parts of the pre-fight build-up was at a press conference just before the day of the fight. Paul proposed that he would pay Fury twice the amount he was earning from the fight if he lost, but Fury had to give him his entire purse if Paul won.

Fury’s father, John Fury, accepted the wager on his son’s behalf, and Paul and Tommy Fury shook hands. It is unknown if Paul has honored the wager yet.

The loss strips Paul of the mystique that surrounded his budding boxing career. A major part of his allure was that he was undefeated and beating many competitors that, despite being past their prime or away from their area of expertise, were highly respected at a point in time.

Regardless of his new reputation, Paul promised that he will be back in the ring.

“Don’t judge me by my wins, judge me by my losses,” Paul said on Twitter Sunday night ET. “Congrats to Tommy, his team and his family.  Thank you to everyone that tuned in. Saudi Arabia thank you as well. I will be back.”

Then, again Monday morning.

“To all my young fans, I love you,” Paul tweeted. “Don’t be saddened by my loss. Life is full of ups and downs. You just have to learn from your failures and come back better.  Hard work, hard work, hard work. I will be back.”