Anthony Joshua 'Had a Go' at Eddie Hearn Immediately After Jake Paul Win
Anthony Joshua 'had a go' at Eddie Hearn immediately after his destructive knockout victory against Jake Paul.
Joshua detonated a blistering right-hand flush on Paul's chin that crumbled him to the canvas.
'The Problem Child' failed to beat the count as the referee waved off the contest in the sixth round.
Paul suffered a broken jaw that required surgery, with Matchroom promoter Hearn delivering a disturbing update in the wake of his nasty injury.
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Hearn also revealed his exchange with Joshua in the immediate aftermath of the fight result.
He claims Joshua almost 'had a go' at him for rushing his work against Paul.
Asked if he was nervous at all watching from ringside, Hearn told Ariel Helwani: "No. I mean, I knew there was no way he could lose, but it was just the nerves were more like a hurry up, you know. We need to grab hold of him here and cut him off."
He added: "And he was moving so quickly around the ring. It's very difficult to cut a fighter off like that. So, AJ was really patient. Like, he almost had a go at me after... I got in the ring after. I was like, 'Well done, mate'. He said, 'Stop rushing me'. I'm like, 'I know but I just wanted it over with'."
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Hearn continued: "And the more rounds it went, I felt like the more kind of detrimental it would be to him in the end because of the way it finished.
"That's what everybody's talking about. That's the virality of it is the double broken jaw and the huge right hand and Jake playing along after with all his, you know, his social stuff and no, I mean, never never worried, only worried about how long it would take and I thought it would be inside three rounds. I did.
"But Jake was smart. He was smart in there."
What's next for Anthony Joshua?
Hearn will be tasked with planning Joshua's career in 2026, with a super-fight against old rival Tyson Fury believed to be in the works.
Another run-out in February or March is expected, with former kickboxing world champion Rico Verhoeven mooted as a potential opponent.
Verhoeven is one of the most decorated kickboxers in the sport's history and held the GLORY heavyweight world title.
The Dutch star is a free agent and has been linked with transitioning to boxing to face Joshua.
A potential bout against Verhoeven would serve as another tune-up before meeting Fury.
Topics: Anthony Joshua, Eddie Hearn, Jake Paul, Boxing
Nasir Jabbar