On Friday night, Jake Paul boldly stepped into the ring with one of the best heavyweight fights on the planet. Despite giving up 30 pounds in size, five inches in height, and over a decade in boxing experience, the Cleveland native rolled the dice and took a huge risk. Unsurprisingly, it didn't turn out well for him .
After six rounds of using an understandable keep-away strategy, Anthony Joshua was eventually able to knock off the rust, find his range, and end his fight with the combat sports lightning rod. The Englishman got the knockout most expected, but it took far longer than most expected.
It was likely due in large part because it took him a while to get back in a groove after 15 months away, but also Paul deserves a lot of credit for the heart he showed by getting up almost every time he was knocked down — four times in total. It earned him respect from the former unified champion, and it is one of the notable news bits that emerged after the Paul-Joshua fight last night.
Credit: Jake Paul Instagram
After suffering the first knockout loss of his career, the American suggested during his post-fight interview inside the ring that he thought he probably broke his jaw. Well, he wasn't wrong, and it was even worse than he thought.
In an early Saturday morning post on his social media, Paul revealed the X-ray of his jaw. It showed a major break on one side, but also a smaller fracture on the other. It likely means his fans won't see him back in the ring until well into 2026.
Credit: Esther Lin/Most Valuable Promotions
"I wish I could have knocked him out at the start, but as we saw, Jake has spirit. He has some heart. He tried his best, and I take my hat off to him," Joshua said at the post-fight press conference . "Firstly, a lot of fighters haven't gotten in the ring with me, and Jake did. Secondly, every time he got knocked down, he tried to get back up, and I take my hat off to him."
The former two-time unified champion added that if he is willing to get past the mental hurdle of a knockout loss, he can see him getting more big fights in 2026, specifically against Gervonta Davis or Ryan Garcia .
Credit: Ed Mulholland/Getty Images for Netflix
Even before he stepped into the ring at Miami's Kaseya Center, Joshua had already revealed plans for an English super-fight with fellow United Kingdom legend Tyson Fury . So, when can fight fans expect that long-overdue clash to go down?
In the post-event presser , Joshua's promoter, Eddie Hearn, revealed he expects his fighter to have one more fight, then face the former unified champion in the spring. However, Joshua admitted he would prefer to face him in his next bout. Hearn said that is a possibility that Fury is ready to compete in the next few months.
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Most will assume the massive experience gap between him and the former heavyweight king was a major reason why Paul was knocked out on Friday night. Joshua has been boxing for over 15 years. However, the American's promoter, Nakisa Bidarian, suggested after the fight that it was really the size that was the issue in "El Gallo's" loss.
"The reality is, Jake lost because of the size difference, not because of the skill difference," Bidarian said . "AJ was hanging on that neck and pushing him down. When you have someone that heavy constantly doing that, it does suck the energy out of you. He didn't take out his soul. He did take out his energy, and that's when he was able to get the finish."
Credit: Alexander Tamargo/Getty Images for Netflix
Hate him or love him, Jake Paul draws a lot of attention. Even from the celebrity elite who are into boxing. Plus, the chance to see Anthony Joshua one more time on US soil was something many wealthy individuals in the Miami area did not want to pass up.
Last night, the celebrities that attented the Paul vs. Joshua fight included rapper Rick Ross, director Benny Safdie, comedian Bert Kreischer, Dave Portnoy, Young Thug, Ryan Serhant, Trippie Red, Teskashi 69, Ty Dolla $ign, Timbaland, Matt Rife, golf superstar Rory McIlroy , former NFL stars Brandon Marshall and Michael Irvin , New York Mets star Juan Soto , Kay Adams, Shaggy, Antonio Tarver, Rolando Romero, and former boxing star Paulie Malignaggi.
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