Jake Paul has been met with ridicule following his tweet after the Moses Itauma vs Filip Hrgovic fight.
A new world champion was crowned on Saturday as Hrgovic beat Itauma at the O2 Arena in London, England. The Brit entered the bout as the heavy favourite thanks to 14 straight victories, but Hrgovic had other ideas and secured a monumental win on away soil.
Itauma has had a dizzying rise through boxing's ranks and looked to make history in becoming the second-youngest world champion in heavyweight history, and he started Saturday's fight with an explosive intensity. He secured a second-round knockdown and looked to be in cruise control, but his relentless punching looked to wear him down as the fight went on, and his unrelenting attacks were replaced by fatigued fighting.
After weathering the storm, Hrgovic began his own period of punching prowess, landing 29 punches in the ninth round before Itauma's corner threw in the towel with the 21-year-old staggering and swaying around the ring before requiring medical attention after the fight.
"He is the best I have been in the ring with, but he needs more experience," Hrgovic said. "I knew I was losing the round, but I knew that I had the pace in my favour. He needs more experience, but he is one of a kind.
"From the first round, I saw his gassing out. He started fast. I knew he was going to gas out. I knew when my chance came I needed to push. That is what I did."
Jake Paul Tweet Provokes Huge Reaction
Following the conclusion of the fight, Jake Paul published a terse tweet that simply read: "Gimme Hrgovic."
Perennially controversial and often divisive, Paul is not one who shies away from the limelight. Now, his latest tweet has been met with scathing criticism and mocking laughter.
The former social media star has made a career in combat sports over the past few years, however, critics point out that the majority of fights have not been against traditional boxers, with many against ageing former professionals or young boxers with little-to-no high level experience.
He has, however, fought Tommy Fury and Anthony Joshua, two traditional and active boxers of a high level. The former he lost via split decision in 2023 and the latter he lost in a sixth-round knockout loss in which he suffered a broken jaw.
This not-so-stellar record has left many boxing fans treating Paul's tweet with total irreverence. While some would enjoy witnessing Paul face off against the world champion, many others think it devalues and undermines the integrity of the sport.
Given Hrgovic is now world champion, however, and will have plenty of people lining up to fight him, including a potential rematch with Itauma, a fight between the pair remains unlikely.
