- Safiu Kehinde
American Youtuber-turned-boxer, Jake Paul, has been hospitalised with a suspected broken jaw after his heavyweight fight with Anthony Joshua in Miami.
Paul who was repeatedly knocked down by the two-time heavyweight world champion finally gave up in the sixth round after a brutal jab to the jaw from Joshua’s right fist.
The 28-year-old hit the canvas twice in the fifth and sixth rounds and said in his post-fight comments he believed his jaw was “definitely” broken.
According to the BBC, Paul was forced to skip the post-fight news conference with Most Valuable Promotions chief Nakisa Bidarian confirming he had gone to hospital.
“We think he broke his jaw. But he’s fine,
“He took a shower, he drove himself to hospital. A broken jaw is very common in sports, particularly in boxing or MMA. The recovery time is four to six weeks.” Bidarian said.
Paul was a massive underdog and his tactics against Joshua appeared to be to use his speed and footwork to stay away from the Briton’s big punches.
The fight attracted criticism because of the weight discrepancy and experience gap between the fighters.
Paul has fought most of his career at cruiserweight and says he intends to take “some time off” from boxing.
“We will heal the broken jaw, come back and fight people my weight. I’m going for the cruiserweight world title,
“I’m going to take a little break. I’ve been going hard for six years.” He said.