Eddie Hearn scoffs at claim that Jake Paul had Anthony Joshua hurt in ‘horrendous mismatch’

Matchroom Boxing’s Eddie Hearn has dismissed the notion that Jake Paul landed anything of significance on Anthony Joshua.

Paul and Joshua headlined a Netflix special on Dec. 19. The heavyweight boxing affair was scheduled for eight rounds inside the Kaseya Center in Miami. Joshua did not need all eight rounds, as he knocked Paul out in the sixth. Paul suffered a broken jaw and he has since undergone successful surgery.

Appearing on his brother Logan Paul’s “Impaulsive” podcast, Jake claimed that he had Joshua wobbled at one point in the fight. Speaking to Ring Magazine, Hearn found that thought to be humorous (h/t MMAFighting).

“He definitely didn’t wobble A.J. but he landed his biggest shots,” Hearn said. “A couple of right hands from the gods but he’s just not big enough, he doesn’t punch hard enough. I’m sure he got his attention but he certainly wasn’t wobbled.

“You’ve got to understand, [Jake Paul] was so far out of his depth. It was a horrendous mismatch. It was always a horrendous mismatch so you can’t expect him to go in there and stand and trade for three minutes. His job was to survive and look how far he got. I didn’t expect him to go that many rounds.”

Both Joshua and Hearn have given Paul credit for lasting as long as he did. Joshua has admitted that he wasn’t overly enthusiastic about his own performance, but he believes he had to shake off some ring rust. Matchroom Boxing is set to work with Turki Alalshikh on Joshua’s next fight, which could take place as soon as February or March.

Paul is expected to be on the shelf for a longer period of time, as he has to recover from his jaw procedure. “El Gallo” also said he wanted to take some time off regardless of the injury due to his schedule. The break from fighting will allow him to focus on other ventures, including his work as a promoter through Most Valuable Promotions.