Damn you, cardio.
YouTuber-turned professional boxer Jake Paul was viciously knocked out by former Heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua, suffering a broken jaw in the process, last weekend (Fri., Dec. 19,
2025) at Judgement Day inside Kayesa Center in Miami, Florida (watch highlights).
While Joshua’s power and size were always going to be a massive problem, Paul believes his biggest downfall was something far more familiar: conditioning.
And against an Olympic gold medalist with elite experience, that flaw proved fatal.
Now that a few days have passed, Paul reflected on the loss alongside his brother Logan on the Impaulsive podcast, opening up about what went wrong — both on fight night and during his training camp.
“It was mental. It was him imposing his will on me and being massive, with the big shots landing — and once that starts, it all goes downhill from there,” Paul said. “I wish I had more than three weeks to prepare and maybe put on some more muscle to be able to sit there and trade with him.”
Paul then pinpointed what he considers his biggest mistake.
“I should have gone to altitude to train — that was my biggest mistake,” he admitted. “I felt good about my camp, but I needed that extra level of cardio for this fight, and that only comes from altitude. I was 200 pounds one week out, then had to put more weight back on.”
Adding to the uphill battle, Paul’s mother revealed that he had been sick for nearly 10 days leading into the bout — something that may have further zapped his gas tank.
Despite suffering the first knockout loss of his career, Paul said the experience was still valuable.
“It was a great experience overall to be in there with someone that good,” Paul said. “I learned a lot. I see where I could have done better. I’m a little disappointed, but I also know how good he is. I had him wobbled at one point and thought, ‘f—k,’ but he kept his hands high and got better as the fight went on.”
Paul confirmed he plans to continue boxing, but will take time off to let his jaw heal. In the meantime, he plans to support his brother at the Olympics, do some snowboarding — and even hinted at starting a family.
