Anthony Joshua brutally shows Jake Paul his limits. After Miami, it is clear that there is a huge difference between show and world class.
The debate is over: After the clear defeat to Anthony Joshua, the idea of Jake Paul as a serious world championship candidate is hardly tenable. At the Netflix event in Miami, the enormous difference between entertainment boxing and world-class level became clear. Paul survived eight rounds, but came across as defensive, passive and without any recognizable ambition to win.
Experts such as Chris Algieri and Paulie Malignaggi were not sparing with their criticism afterwards. Paul was “not trying to win”, but merely to survive. “When I saw the big ring, I knew he was running for his life. He would have been knocked out in the first round,” said former light welterweight and welterweight champion Malignaggi. “As a fighter, you have no respect. This clown would do that for eight rounds if he could.” He continued, “What bothers me the most is the shamelessness of his approach. You want to be a boxer? Then don’t make a fool of yourself and the sport. You were perfectly content to steal everyone’s money by running away for eight rounds. No one respects that kind of thing.”
Algieri claimed that the performance had not diminished the huge interest in a fight between Joshua and Tyson Fury in England. “This fight has to happen. Tyson Fury sees the Paul fight and says, ‘Why shouldn’t I fight this guy?’ We know neither of them are at the peak of their careers, but this fight has to happen and I think it will go very well.”
It became particularly clear: Against real top athletes, reach, physicality or self-promotion are not enough. Joshua dominated despite a long break and made it clear that Paul’s ambitions for titles – even at cruiserweight – are unrealistic. Paul’s talent as a promoter and marketer remains undisputed. But in sporting terms, the fight is likely to be a turning point. Entertainment fights yes – world championship dreams rather no.
Text by Robin Josten