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In the ring after suffering his first defeat in a boxing ring, Jake Paul said that he would "100%" want to activate his rematch clause for another shot at Tommy Fury. It was an understandable statement. Paul had been competitive in the eight-round fight, even winning the bout on one of the three official scorecards. Removed from the heat of the moment, however, the idea of jumping right back into the ring with Fury may not be Paul's best option.

The loss no doubt stung Paul badly. Fighting Fury was both an attempt to address criticism that he'd never faced a "real boxer" and a true rivalry bout, with both men having spit acidic trash talk for nearly two years before finally facing off.

To come up short, even when scoring the only knockdown in the fight, will weigh heavily on Paul and he now had to endure even more criticism and statements that his boxing career was always a sham, built on facing unskilled opponents and faded mixed martial arts stars.

Fury is something of a limited fighter himself, which only serves to add to the questions of the long-term viability of Paul's boxing career. Still, as limited as Fury is, he's quite a bit better than the level of opponent many accomplished amateur boxers -- which Paul is not -- face in their seventh professional outing.

For reference, Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s seventh opponent was Tony Duran, who entered the fight 12-15-1 and on an 0-9-1 run. Shane Mosley fought 1-3 Paulino Gonzalez, who went on to retire with a 2-18 record.

Paul's ceiling was never as high as those men, but he did take a clear risk in facing an opponent who was on an equal level and with far more time spent in a boxing gym. That risk didn't pay off but it must be acknowledged in determining how Paul can move forward from his first defeat.

There's likely still money to be squeezed out of continuing to step into the ring, but Paul now faces a big decision on what shape his combat career takes.

Pride and competitiveness do likely make Paul want to take advantage of the rematch clause and step back in the ring with Fury again. But Fury was the better boxer on Sunday and by a fairly clear margin. Paul had his own moments of success and didn't look totally out of his depth, but the overall skill difference was clear and showed with Fury needing to use little more than his jab to keep Paul from settling in to the fight.

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A second loss to Fury would almost certainly bring the Paul money train to a halt. And Fury would be a considerable favorite in the rematch considering the late Paul knockdown was a result of a jab catching Fury off balance more than a show that his power had truly affected Fury.

There are still plenty of options for Paul that will make money outside of rematching Fury. But there's one that stands out as the biggest box office attraction, while also being the option that would show that Paul's priority has shifted fully away from his repeated goals to become a legitimate championship-level boxer and purely to the realm of entertainment.

A showdown with fellow social media star-turned-boxer KSI has been discussed for roughly as long as both men have been turning their attention to boxing. KSI was quick to take to social media to celebrate Paul's loss.

KSI also holds a 2019 split decision win over Logan Paul, Jake's brother. That adds an extra layer to the rivalry, though one must ignore that KSI also co-owns Prime sports drink with Logan to fully buy into the legitimacy of their shared hatred.

KSI vs. Jake Paul is a big-money fight in the same way that KSI vs. Logan Paul was. That fight sold 12,000 seats in Los Angeles' Staples Center, drawing in massive celebrities and interest around the world.

Since the fight with Logan Paul, KSI has fought a few exhibition bouts while co-founding the Misfits Boxing promotion. On Aug. 27, he defeated British entertainer Swarmz and 2-5 professional boxer Luis Alcaraz Pineda on the same night. He then was scheduled to fight MMA fighter Dillon Danis on Jan. 14, but Danis pulled out of the fight, leaving KSI to make quick work of esports and YouTube personality FaZe Temperrr.

Paul now must choose which of two roads to travel. One, fighting Fury in a rematch, presents the biggest risk but also the biggest chance to continue trying to prove himself a legitimate boxer. The other, fighting another "personality" like KSI, is an easier fight and big money, but largely represents the end of any ghost of hope Paul ever pushes to compete as a higher-level professional boxer.

While the first fight with Fury was labeled "The Truth," the ultimate truth may come from the direction Paul decides to go following his first defeat.