RESULT: Tommy Fury BEATS Jake Paul by split decision and sheds tears of joy in Saudi Arabia

Tommy Fury defeated Jake Paul via split decision in Saudi Arabia – but it wasn’t without drama and controversy.

Fury was ultimately the deserved winner – with the judges calling the fight 76-73, 76-73, 74-75 in his favor – but with a points deduction and a knockdown against his name, things were far from smooth sailing.

This fight between the British former Love Island contestant and an American who rose to fame via YouTube was the culmination of more than two years of social media warfare that only culminated in a clash for the third time.

Fury was forced to pull out of the two previously arranged bouts and was bombarded with claims he was afraid to fight the seemingly less decorated boxer in Paul.

The 23-year-old always insisted he had to pull out of his dates with Paul due to legitimate injuries and visa-related reasons. It’s no wonder the Mancunian, after finally being able to prove himself right, was moved to tears when he was announced victorious.

Fury and Paul faced each other in Saudi Arabia on Sunday night. Fury defeated Paul via split decision – one judge scored 75-74 for Paul and the other two scored 76-73 for Fury

This highly anticipated fight between the British ex-Love Island contestant and an American who rose to fame via YouTube was the result of more than two years of social media warfare

In the fight, TNT seemed the more stylish and composed fighter from the very first round. He had a distinct style based on his left jab that Paul really struggled to work out.

Paul has power and that seemed to have Fury’s respect. The first two rounds were pretty easy for Fury as he made his way out of Paul’s sweet spot.

Paul couldn’t get his upper hand right, but in the third round he enjoyed more success when he stopped trying to knock Fury out, as promised, and tried to box with him.

In the fifth round, Paul was deducted a point for hitting Fury in the back of the head. Already 3-1 down on most scorecards, the YouTube star needed nothing less than a knockout from then on.

Paul rarely had the momentum of battle. He purely wanted to land his favored overhand right and Fury showed enough skill to nullify that threat – although his nosebleed showed that not all of Paul’s efforts were on target.

In the sixth round, the referee took a point from Fury for holding, giving Paul hope that he was within reach again. That gave Paul new life, but Fury still had a lot more class in the overall exchanges.

Controversy came in the final round and if the script was indeed a fake earlier in the day, it wouldn’t matter if someone conjured up a new script.

Fury dedicated his victory to his new daughter Bambi and his long-term girlfriend Molly-Mae

Paul did manage to land some good punches and even beat Fury in the last round of the fight

Paul was devastated after the fight, blaming both illness and an arm injury for the defeat

Fury was in tears after proving himself right in his biggest fight to date against the 26-year-old

Despite two years of animosity, Paul and Fury had a lot of respect at the end of the match

Both fighters have said they would be open to a rematch after a close fight on Sunday night

Fury was knocked down in the opening seconds of the final lap, but the Briton insisted he slipped and only put a hand to the canvas. Replays show that he had lost his footing with his lead leg, but it was at the same time that Paul landed a flush jab.

At the end of the match, Fury had raised his hand and it looked like Paul wouldn’t be fighting that too much. The pair shared another sweet moment there as Fury cried tears after winning. What a reflection of how far Jake Paul has come!

The stars came out to see the fight more than two years in the making. Tyson Fury, of course, supported his brother, but his old foe Deontay Wilder also made the trip and he was joined by heavyweight legend Mike Tyson, football legend Cristiano Ronaldo and Hollywood A-lister Kevin Hart.