Jake Paul’s Knock Out By Anthony Joshua Gets The Meme Treatment

Jake Paul finally faced a real fighter and left the boxing ring with a broken jaw, sparking memes and mockery from the internet.

Jake Paul Gets Knocked Out By Anthony Joshua

On Friday night at the Kaseya Center in Miami, YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul went up against two-time unified heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua for a controversial match that was streamed on Netflix.

The two were scheduled to go for eight rounds, but the fight lasted for six, with Paul eventually taken down by a hard right punch from Joshua.

The fight was always viewed as a comical mismatch, with Paul facing a stronger, heavier and more experienced opponent, wildly out of his league.

However, Paul lasted longer than many commentators anticipated, managing to keep his distance from Joshua for the majority of the fight, benefiting from the extra space afforded by the 22-by-22-foot ring (the standard size for a boxing ring is 20-by-20).

The fight marks Paul’s second loss in his fighting career, and his first by a knockout.

For boxing fans and Jake Paul haters, the fight proved cathartic, with the image of Paul taking the knockout punch immediately becoming a meme.

Others shared images taken from another angle, showing Joshua smiling as he lands the final blow.

Paul has always been a controversial influencer, boasting an obnoxious screen presence, but since entering the world of boxing, the YouTuber has been criticized for engaging in high-profile novelty fights, closer to PR stunts than real boxing matches.

At 27, Paul famously faced 58-year-old heavyweight legend Mike Tyson, but with an eye-watering 31-year age gap (the largest in the history of boxing), the YouTuber easily overwhelmed the elder Tyson.

That Tyson stunt sparked plenty of criticism against Paul, with many commentators viewing the fight as a bad joke, and disrespectful to Tyson’s legacy.

The fight also highlighted how boxing was growing increasingly commercialized, with sporting logic often giving way to sheer spectacle.

Paul’s bout against Joshua was similarly mismatched, and Paul spent much of the fight on his knees, knocked down by his heavyweight opponent (Paul typically fights at cruiserweight).

The moment when Paul received the knockout punch proved perfect meme fodder, with Paul looking cartoonishly stunned.

Paul later shared in an Instagram post that the punch had given him a double broken jaw. The YouTuber can be seen with a mouthful of blood in footage filmed right after the fight.

Despite the victory, Joshua reckoned that his own performance wasn’t up to standard.

“It wasn’t the best,” Joshua said. “It took a bit longer than expected. Jake Paul did well tonight; he got up time and again. You have to give him respect for trying, but he came up against a real fighter tonight who’s had a 15-month layoff.”

Understandably, Paul says he wants to take some time off after the jaw-breaking knockout, but the internet isn’t likely to forget this moment.

“We will heal the broken jaw, come back and fight people my weight. I’m going for the cruiserweight world title,” Paul said. “I’m going to take a little break. I’ve been going hard for six years.”

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