Former heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua delivered a decisive sixth-round knockout Friday night against YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul, leaving Paul with a broken jaw and prompting surgery and a liquid-only diet for the next week.
Joshua, 36, halted the bout at the Kaseya Center in Miami after multiple knockdowns and a powerful right hand that left Paul’s jaw fractured in two places. Paul, 28, was immediately hospitalized following the stoppage.
Paul posted on social media after surgery Saturday that the procedure went “smooth,” but that he will be restricted to consuming only liquids for at least seven days as he recovers. He thanked the medical team at Miami University Hospital for their care.
The fight marked a high-profile return to competition for Joshua, who had been out of the ring for more than a year. It was Paul’s first knockout loss in his professional career. Despite the severity of his injury, Paul shared an X-ray of his jaw and posted light-hearted comments about his recovery and future plans.
Joshua said after the fight that he respected Paul’s courage for stepping into the ring but noted the difference in experience and power between them. With the victory, Joshua called out longtime heavyweight rival Tyson Fury as he pivots back toward the championship landscape.
The injury is expected to sideline Paul for several weeks, though he indicated he plans to return to boxing once healed, potentially moving to a different weight class in future bouts.
