Jake Paul vs Tommy Fury fight rules: Number of rounds, time and ‘Diriyah Champion’ belt explained as bitter rivals clash in Saudi Arabia
Jake Paul and Tommy Fury will finally come head-to-head this evening as the bitter rivals take to the ring in Saudi Arabia.
The long-awaited fight is all set for the Diriyah Arena and the action will be exclusively live on talkSPORT.
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Follow full coverage of Jake Paul vs Tommy Fury HERE
The pair have had bad blood for over two years but are yet to settle their differences under the lights.
Paul will be putting his unbeaten record at risk as he takes on his first professional boxer while Fury will also have his undefeated record on the line.
With both taking part in fights with a variety of different rounds and lengths in the past, here’s a rundown of what to expect tonight.
Paul vs Fury: Number of rounds
This fight is scheduled for eight three-minute rounds.
Paul’s last four fights have all been scheduled for the same amount of time and he has gone the full length in two of them.
‘The Problem Child’ beat Anderson Silva by unanimous decision following his split decision win in his first fight against Tyron Woodley.
As for Fury, this will be the first time he has fought in an eight-round bout, with his longest fight coming last time out as he beat Daniel Bocianski in six rounds.
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Paul vs Fury: VAR and open scoring?
Jake Paul vs Tommy Fury is set to be a rare boxing event to employ open scoring and video review.
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As the fight is taking place in Saudi Arabia, the local commission have chosen to adopt some of the WBC’s rules which are not accepted everywhere else in the world.
Open scoring and video review will be in effect for the main event and co-main event – Jake Paul vs Tommy Fury and Ilunga Makabu vs Badou Jack.
For Paul vs Fury, the corners will be informed of the scorecards at the halfway point in their eight-round fight (after round four).
For Makabu vs Jack, the corners will be informed of the scorecards twice during their 12-round fight (after rounds four and eight).
Video review will be used to aid the referees with any contentious decisions.
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Paul vs Fury: Weight difference?
The fight will take place at a catchweight of 185lbs.
Paul weighed in at 183.6lb, significantly lighter than his last bout against Silva.
Fury tipped the scales at 184.5lb, putting on weight since the cancelled Paul Bamba fight in November.
For his win over Silva last time out, Paul weighed in at 186.5lbs while Fury was a much lighter 177.8lbs for his victory against Bocianski.
Paul vs Fury: Will the winner receive a belt?
The WBC have revealed that a special belt will be awarded to the winner of this fight.
They have named the belt the ‘Diriyah Champion’ and the winner will receive it after the contest is over.
During their pre-fight press conference on Thursday, the belt was showed to the public for the first time and both fighters got their hands on it.
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Alongside the belt, Paul will also receive a WBC ranking if he wins on Sunday night.
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The sanctioning body have announced that the YouTuber-turned-boxer will enter their rankings so long as he emerges victorious.
This means that depending on where he is ranked, ‘The Problem Child’ could become eligible for a world title shot in his very next fight.
Jake Paul vs Tommy Fury on talkSPORT
talkSPORT has landed exclusive radio rights for the blockbuster boxing showdown between Jake Paul and Tommy Fury.
Our coverage of the fight will start at 7pm on Sunday, February 26 on talkSPORT 2 before switching over to talkSPORT at 8:30pm ahead of the main event.
marvelbet369.com will bring you all the build-up across fight week, exclusive interviews with both camps and the very latest from Saudi Arabia as well as a live blog on fight night.
To tune in to talkSPORT or talkSPORT 2 through the website, click HERE for the live stream.
You can also listen via the talkSPORT app, on DAB digital radio, through your smart speaker and on 1089 or 1053 AM.