In a stunning turn of events, the highly-anticipated boxing match between Jake Paul and Tommy Fury on Sunday night ended in a split decision, with Fury emerging as the victor over the once-mighty Paul.
The fight, held in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia, went down the wire as Fury won via split decision (74-75, 76-73, 76-73), despite Paul knocking Fury down in the eighth round.
The former YouTube star, who had made a name for himself with his brash personality and knockout prowess, was left reeling as Fury claimed the victory.
But the drama didn’t end there. In the aftermath of the bout, Paul was forced to confront a bitter truth: his loss had cost one of his biggest supporters a fortune.
Goodbye, $400,000 Bitcoin Bet
Drake, the Canadian rapper and longtime Paul fan, had reportedly wagered a staggering $400,000 in Bitcoin (roughly 17 BTC) on his hero’s success in the ring.
With Paul’s defeat, Drake was left with nothing but regret and a gaping hole in his wallet. Or, did he?
On Instagram, Drake proudly displayed his wager, which he had made on the cryptocurrency betting platform Stake. Drake, using a door emoji, stated, “Knock knock.”
According to the screenshot Drake posted, Paul would have been eligible to receive $1.44 million in bitcoin had he won the fight.
Jake Paul blamed Drake in jest for his loss to Tommy Fury. “F***! This is all Drake’s fault!” Paul said.
Paul added:
“Drake, bro, why did you do this to me? No, it’s my fault. $400,000 is nothing to him – he has won a lot more money betting on me before […] Sorry, Drake, I’ll get that win in the rematch.”
Drake is notorious for making public his predictions for major athletic events before each one he wagers on.
Back in November he put down $2 million on Israel Adesanya to win UFC 281 vs Alex Pereira.
The fight ended in the fifth round when Pereira knocked out Adesanya, costing Drake 2 million Canadian dollars.
Previously, on February 14, Drake earned $1.26 million in Bitcoin bet after the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LVII.
Drake lost $275,000 in bitcoin wagering on Jorge Masvidal’s fight, and $234,000 in bitcoin after Charles Leclerc failed to win the Spanish Grand Prix.
‘The Drake Curse’
The expression “The Drake curse” was coined when numerous athletes and teams failed to achieve their goals after Drake made bets on them.
“Victims” include people like former heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua. Drake predicted that the Briton would win the first boxing match against Andy Ruiz, but the Mexican underdog won by knockout.
The rapper has also lost money betting on soccer. He staked a million dollars’ worth of bitcoin that Argentina would win the FIFA World Cup against France.
Yet in the end, Messi and his squad won on penalties and took home the trophy.
At the time of writing, Bitcoin was trading at $23,708, down 2.4% in the last seven days, data by Coingecko show.
-Featured image from MMA Mania