Jake Paul was knocked out by Anthony Joshua in their megafight on Friday night on Netflix. Although many were expecting early fireworks, the fight went into the sixth round, largely thanks to Paul’s refusal to box and going to his knees multiple times. And his performance did not impress announcer Mauro Ranallo.
After building up his record fighting the likes of MMA fighters and a nearly 60 year-old Mike Tyson, Paul somehow thought it was a good idea to step up immensely in class and face Joshua, the former heavyweight champion of the world.
It was immediately evident as the fight began that Paul’s strategy was not actually to box Joshua, but dance around him and attempt double leg takedowns in an effort to stall and extend the fight. Jake Paul only threw 56 punches in the entire fight, almost a third of Joshua’s output.
As the contest entered the third round, Ranallo flatly said “Jake Paul is doing next to nothing, guys.” By the end of the round he stated, “It has been lackadaisical to say the least, there has been next to no offense going on in this fight.”
The frustration grew in the broadcast booth as the fourth round begin. After another moment when Paul fell over to the canvas, Ranallo exclaimed, “Come on, enough is enough. The referee finally calling time and it could be a point deduction.” He also called the fight “bowling shoe ugly.”
It reached the point of absurdity towards the end of the fourth round when Paul went for another grappling maneuver aimed at Joshua’s legs. Ranallo emphatically echoed referee Christopher Young, shouting, “The fans did not pay to see this crap.”
— welovesports40 (@welovesports40) December 20, 2025
Eventually, as the fifth round started, the fight actually began resembling a boxing match. And in the sixth, Anthony Joshua viciously knocked out Jake Paul with a straight right hand that Paul said broke his jaw in two places after the fight.
The moment Anthony Joshua knocked Jake Paul out! #JakeJoshua pic.twitter.com/TiP0ovbpzf
— Netflix (@netflix) December 20, 2025
Surely the bout will make both Paul and Joshua a ton of money, so maybe that made it worthwhile in the end. But the performance from the YouTuber is only going to strengthen the case of skeptics and doubters that believe he is making a mockery of the sweet science.
Can he go back to fighting tomato cans and retired fighters and still gain the same interest after what we saw Friday night? The moment he stepped into the ring with a legitimate fighter in his prime, he was severely outclassed, outboxed, and outpunched, resorting to a bizarre strategy of attempted takedowns.
After he staggered to his feet and the fight was over, Ranallo delivered the second knockout on Paul for the night with his closing remark.
“The best thing that can be said for Jake Paul is that he wasn’t seriously hurt.”
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