Even though he was expected to knock out Jake Paul, Anthony Joshua isn’t happy with how he did it.
“I needed to do better,” Joshua said during a post-fight news conference. “It’s a win, but it’s not a success. I feel my coach expects more from me, and I expect more from myself. But what can we do? We can’t reverse the clocks. I have to move forward. I have to put that in the past now.
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“After today, you may see a bit of social media trying to lap up all of the algorithm attention, but for me, it’s in the past. I can’t live off of that win. I’ve got a lot of improving I need to do. So, yeah, I’m not happy.”
Joshua, an Olympic gold medalist and former two-time heavyweight champion, was naturally expected to defeat Paul, a YouTuber who took up pro boxing a handful of years ago. The matchup was extremely lopsided by every measurement, and if Joshua didn’t finish the fight quick enough, many would have viewed the outing as a legacy altering fight for the former champ.
After chasing Paul around the ring for five rounds and dealing with Paul dropping to the canvas in what can only be described as half-hearted takedown attempts just to avoid a finishing blow from Joshua, things abruptly ended in Round 6. Joshua unleashed a laser of a right hand on Paul’s jaw, breaking it in two places.
“There was a lot riding on this fight – a lot of pressure, a lot of expectations,” Joshua said. “So I had to perform. A lot of people doubt me. I saw Mauricio Suliaman put a picture up of Jake, he didn’t put a picture up of me. A lot of people don’t respect me, so it’s a lot of pressure. I had boxing on my back today, and that is what it was really. I took Jake as serious as I needed to, but most importantly, I take myself as serious as I need to. I respect myself, I respect boxing, and I know what it takes to get in the ring. You have to be prepared. One slip up could cost you in that ring.”
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Joshua is taking the high road after defeating Paul, even though he knows that if the roles were reversed, his name would be dragged through the mud. He praised Paul for his willingness not only to step through the ropes but also to continue to get up after hitting the canvas multiple times.
“As I said, credit to Jake – I stand on that,” Joshua said. “If he would have beaten me, he would bash me. You know that, right? Imagine him up here now. They would have torn me and Eddie (Hearn) apart. I’m not gonna do that to Jake. I’m gonna give him the credit, but if he wants to stay at the top level at heavyweight, he needs to work harder because it’s very difficult.”
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Anthony Joshua explains why he’s not happy with Jake Paul knockout
