Jake Paul has heaped praise on former rival AnEsonGib for returning with a win in his comeback fight against Tayler Holder.
Paul handily defeated "Gib", whose real name is Ali Al-Fakhri, in his professional boxing debut last year, but the British YouTube star returned with a vengeance against Tik Tok star Holder in June.
Gib was relentless during the pair's six-round exhibition bout at the YouTuber vs Tik Toker boxing event in Miami, eventually winning by unanimous decision after the bout was originally announced as a majority draw.
And Paul said he was delighted to see Gib return with a win, even though he is a close friend of Holder's.
"He fought really good," Paul told Mirror Fighting . "I'm friends with Tayler Holder and I was actually trying to give him pointers and advice going into the fight.
"Gib is good, he's really good, he's a tough guy that works hard and even in my fight against him, it's like, 'okay I'm at a higher level than him,' but he's still at a very high level.
"People seem to underestimate him, and I think Tayler thought it was going to be an easy fight."
Paul has trained with Holder in the past, and tried to warn the social media celebrity that it was not going to be an easy night.
But Holder struggled to impose himself on the bout and was ultimately soundly beaten by the Saudia Arabian-born fighter, who has vowed to return to the ring soon.
"I was telling him, like, 'no man, this kid is legit,'" Paul continued. "Gib came out and proved himself, there's nothing better than when someone comes off of a loss and is able to come back and look better than they did.
"He proved everyone wrong, kudos to him, but it is unfortunate for Tayler."
The bout drew controversy on the night when, despite Gib winning on every judges' scorecard, the fight was announced as a draw.
But after a review from the International Sport Karate Association, who sanctioned the amateur bouts, the result was overturned.
In an official statement, ISKA president Tom Sconzo said: "After reviewing the result for Holder vs Gib fight with scored 49-46, 49-46 & 50-46, Eson Gib won by a unanimous decision.
"I have no excuse for it being called a majority draw other than plain simple human error. I am embarrassed by this mistake, not catching it, and correcting it ringside.
"I sincerely apologise to both fighters especially Mr Gib [sic], who fought an amazing fight and deserved the recognition for his win."
Gib's manager Liam Chivers told Mirror Fighting that they accepted the apology from ISKA and are happy with the outcome.
"I’m so pleased to have been able to get justice for Gib regarding the result error," Chivers said. "The narrative for the fight was ‘Redemption in Miami’ following a tough year since his last visit to the city and unfortunate loss to Jake Paul.
"He has used that as fuel to work so hard to prepare for the fight versus Tayler Holder.
"He needed his Redemption, and until the result was correctly announced, that wasn’t achieved, even though his incredible performance received plaudits from millions of fans and also boxing pundits."
