Jake Paul suffered a debilitating defeat by knock out as he faced off against Anthony Joshua in a hotly anticipated boxing showdown.
Paul was hit with the match-ending blow in round six of the fight against Joshua which was held at Kaseya Center in Miami and streamed continue to exist Netflix on Friday, December 19.
The previous two-time unified heavyweight champion landed the knockout punch on Paul after the YouTuber attempted to taunt Joshua by sticking his tongue out at him before the ultimate blow.
After earlier pushing through a brutal onslaught from his rival, Paul was unable to reply to the referee’s count this time around. The ref had no selection but to call it, crowning Joshua victorious.
Paul seemed to be in good spirits as he conceded defeat, admitting he enjoyed the match despite the loss.
“I feel good. That was fun. I like this sport,” he said, per multiple media reports. “I got my ass beat, but that’s what this sport is about.”
Although he got here off second best on the night, Paul said he still felt like a winner and vowed to return and “get myself a belt.”
“Man, I’ve already won in each way in life,” he said. “This sport has helped me in each way … I believe my jaw is broken, by the way in which.”
For his part, Joshua claimed he thought he would win the fight rather a lot faster than the way it ultimately played out.
“It wasn’t the most effective performance. It wasn’t the most effective,” he said within the ring. “The top goal was ‘pin Jake Paul down and hurt him.’”
The boxer then admitted, “It took a bit longer than expected.”
Jake Paul. (Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images for Netflix)
Joshua also praised his rival in his post-match speech, complimenting Paul for his performance within the fight.
“Jake Paul did very well and he deserves his props. It takes an actual man to do this and he deserves respect for trying and trying and trying,” Joshua said. “It takes an actual man to do this. We’ve to present Jake Paul respect.”
Joshua added, “He got here up against an actual fighter tonight.”
Boxing fans were also vocal in regards to the Joshua v Paul fight, flocking to social media to pontificate.
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“Love him or hate him Jake Paul is hard! To maintain getting up and having one other go takes balls,” wrote one fan, while one other added, “Respect to Jake Paul (regardless that I don’t like him) for holding out against Anthony Joshua for therefore long! Big respect!”
Others were lower than impressed with Paul’s performance, accusing him of dragging out the fight by strategically dropping to his knees throughout the night as a way to last more within the ring.
“This was so pathetic bro. Jake taking a knee every 20 seconds just so he could get farther into the fight lmao,” raged one X user, while one other wrote, “Jake Paul couldn’t run enough. He should attempt to run track as a substitute.”
Mocking Paul’s moves, one other joked, “Jake drained himself out with all that rattling falling 😭”
It was a sentiment that appeared to be echoed by referee Christopher Young, who at one point warned the fighters,”The fans didn’t pay to see this crap.”