In the wake of Anthony Joshua's sixth-round knockout victory over Jake Paul, promoter Eddie Hearn has delivered a forceful rebuttal to swirling conspiracy theories, insisting the high-profile bout was absolutely not fixed.
'Absolutely No Way It Was Fixed'
Appearing on The Ariel Helwani Show, Hearn, who promoted Joshua for the contest, dismissed any notion of a predetermined outcome or round count. He pointed to the severe injury sustained by Paul as definitive proof of the fight's legitimacy.
"Absolutely no way ever," Hearn stated. "If you look at a couple of the right hands AJ missed with in the first couple of rounds, they would have done the same job on Jake's jaw if they would have landed. And Jake did very well to avoid them."
Hearn explained that Joshua's measured approach was part of his strategy, not evidence of a script. "AJ's not the kind of guy who's gonna come out like a train - just start swinging away. He's gonna take his time and that's what he did," he said.
The Devastating Aftermath of the Knockout
The fight concluded in the sixth round when Joshua landed a clean punch that broke Jake Paul's jaw in two places and knocked out multiple teeth. Hearn revealed the severity of the injury, countering casual perceptions about recovery.
"He may never be able to fight again. People aren't really talking about this," Hearn cautioned. "People just think, 'oh you just get your jaw wired, bolted together by a couple screws and on you go.' There have been many fighters that have had their jaws broken that have never boxed again."
Despite the admission that the fight lasted longer than Joshua anticipated, Hearn was adamant: "We're not actors here, you know? It was 100% real. There was never any strategy, any deal, any script. AJ wanted to land clean as soon as possible."
Paul's Response and Road to Recovery
From his hospital bed, Jake Paul displayed immediate defiance, posting an X-ray of his broken jaw on social media with the bold claim: "Give me Canelo [Alvarez] in 10 days."
Following successful surgery, Paul provided an update, tweeting: "Just got out of surgery. Everything went smooth. Thanks for all the love. Lots of pain and stiffness. Gotta eat liquids for 7 days."
Hearn concluded with well-wishes for his opponent, stating, "We didn't want that to happen to Jake, ultimately. We wanted to win and get it over with. But that's the dangers that he took and the risk that he was in the fight. And we hope he can heal up."
