Anthony Joshua’s sixth-round knockoutt of Jake Paul fell short of being a memorable highlight, but he likely sent Paul home with a sizeable medical bill. Paul claimed Joshua broke his jaw in his Netflix main event, a claim supported by a close-up of his teeth.
Many analysts believed it would be a miracle if Paul lasted more than two rounds against Joshua. On Friday, Paul eluded the two-time unified heavyweight champion long enough to see a sixth round. Along the way, Joshua knocked down Paul four times before finishing him.
During their post-fight interviews, Paul claimed his jaw was broken. A close-up video Paul posted online shows his teeth out of alignment inside his bloody mouth.
Joshua’s sixth-round stoppage arguably hurt his reputation more than it helped. Heading into the fight, Joshua told CBS Sports that anything short of a first-round knockout would be “a failure.” Ultimately, he struggled to land clean shots until Paul started slowing round in Round 4.
Paul can hang his hat on lasting four rounds longer than former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou did against Joshua, while also avoiding getting knocked unconscious. However, Paul’s performance, which saw him largely avoid Joshua at distance, clinch, and stall the fight by taking knees, won’t do much to inspire confidence in his title ambitions.
Joshua (29-4, 26 KOs) called for a long-awaited fight against Tyson Fury after Friday’s win. Paul (12-2, 7 KOs) suffered his second professional loss, but still has ambitions to win a cruiserweight world championship.
