Jake Paul faces a compulsory two-month boxing suspension after Anthony Joshua knocked him out in the sixth round of their heavyweight clash.
The Florida Athletic Commission will enforce the 60-day ban following the knockout at Miami’s Kaseya Centre on Friday night.
The suspension could potentially be extended should officials determine the knockout was particularly severe.
Paul, 28, entered the eight-round professional contest with a 12-1 record but was ultimately outclassed by the former two-time unified heavyweight champion.
The YouTuber-turned-boxer spent much of the fight retreating and relying on clinches to avoid Joshua’s punishing power before eventually succumbing to fatigue.
Following the bout, Paul disclosed that Joshua had fractured his jaw during their encounter.
The American said: “I’ve already won in every single way in life, my family, my jaw is broken by the way, it’s definitely broke, nice little a** whooping from one of the best to ever do it.”
The 28-year-old attributed his defeat partly to exhaustion from dealing with his opponent’s superior size.
Jake Paul now faces a compulsory two-month boxing suspension
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He explained: “Honestly, I’m not surprised, I just got tired, so much handling his weight. I think with better cardio, I could’ve kept fighting.”
Despite the loss, Paul remains focused on championship aspirations.
“Oh, for sure, we’ll heal the broken jaw, go back, fight people my own weight and go for the cruiserweight world title. I’m going to take a little break. I’ve been going hard for six years.”
Joshua, meanwhile, conceded his performance fell short of expectations despite securing the victory.
Jake Paul has insisted he’s doing fine but admitted that he may have sustained a broken jaw during his defeat to Anthony Joshua on Saturday morning | GETTY
The former Olympic gold medallist acknowledged: “It wasn’t the best performance. The goal was to get Jake Paul out and hurt him.”
The British heavyweight nevertheless praised his opponent’s resilience throughout the contest.
He said: “Jake Paul has done really well tonight. I want to give him his props, he got up, time and time again. I just took my time and I got the job done.
“I refuse to get hurt, I refuse to acknowledge getting hurt. There is no hurt in me.”
Anthony Joshua made hard work of Jake Paul at the Kaseya Center in Miami on Saturday morning, with the Briton needing six rounds to beat his American rival | GETTY
The bout had generated significant controversy in the build-up, with Joshua making headlines for his aggressive rhetoric.
The Briton declared beforehand: “It’s my job, we fight. We have a licence to kill. I’m sure many people don’t understand it but this is what my job is. I just enjoy what I do.”
Joshua weighed in at 243.4lbs compared to Paul’s 216.6lbs, creating a substantial 26.8lb advantage for the former champion.
The contest saw both fighters wearing regulation 10oz gloves across the scheduled eight three-minute rounds, representing the biggest challenge of Paul’s boxing career to date.