.png)
What happened to Jake Paul's first boxing opponent who suffered devastating knockout
Paul is set to return to the ring against Mike Tyson this weekend.
Featured Image Credit: Getty
Topics: Jake Paul, Boxing, Eddie Hearn
Ben McCrum
Topics: Jake Paul, Boxing, Eddie Hearn
Details of what happened to Jake Paul's first ever professional boxing opponent have revealed ahead of his upcoming bout with former champion Mike Tyson.
On Friday night, the highly-anticipated fight between controversial YouTuber-turned-boxer Paul and former heavyweight boxing champion Tyson will finally take place after an initial delay.
During his time in boxing, Paul has faced off against some huge names in the world of combat sports, including Nate Diaz, Tommy Fury and former UFC champions Anderson Silva and Tyron Woodley.
But what happened to the first man that Paul fought in his very first professional boxing bout nearly five years ago.
Advert
Back in January 2020, Paul made his first walk as a professional fighter in the co-main event of Matchroom Boxing's Miami event headlined by Demetrius Andrade and Luke Keeler.
The American faced British YouTuber AnEsonGib, real name Ali Loui Al-Fakhri, in a six round super middleweight fight.
However, Paul did not require the full six rounds, as he comfortably sealed a victory in the first round after knocking 'Gib' down three times in quick succession, forcing the referee to end the fight early.
After the embarrassing loss, Gib took over a year away from the sport, before returning with a unanimous decision win over TikTok star Taylor Holder in June 2021.
Following the win over Holder, the Brit has gone on to win another three fights in a row over other influencer boxers, and is now set to make his debut on a Misfits Boxing card to compete against Slim Albaher for the middleweight title later in November.
In November last year, Matchroom chief and boxing legend Eddie Hearn gave his thoughts on Gib's loss to Paul and how he has comeback from it while speaking on the Sidemen's podcast.
"I remember seeing him the next morning and it was so humiliating. It wasn't just getting stopped by Jake Paul, it was the way that it happened as well, he couldn't even get up," said the boxing promoter.
"And I saw him and he looked completely broken and I looked at him and said 'Gib, you alright mate? Keep your head up son!'
“He’s done unbelievably well to come back and he’s got in great shape. Cos that was like, that was it, you can’t come back from that. You should just disappear after that.”