Anthony Joshua breaks silence on 'brutal' Jake Paul knockout during Netflix fight

It was a knockout seen around the world, and while Jake "The Problem Child" Paul has a pretty impressive track record since he first took on Deji Olatunji in 2018, it seems he was no match for Anthony "Quadzilla" Joshua.

The former two-time heavyweight champion made relatively light work of the YouTube megastar, and after delivering a series of brutal blows in the fifth round, Joshua finally knocked Paul out in the sixth.

While they didn't quite get to the full eight rounds, they're still said to have earned a whopping $93,000 for every second they were in the ring during the Netflix bout.

With the pair dipping their hand into the substantial prize purse, it almost makes it worth it for Paul having his jaw broken in two places.

Both are currently under suspension, although it looks like Paul will be out of action for much longer. The chipper content creator doesn't appear to have any hard feelings toward Joshua, and now, the latter has broken his silence on THAT killer blow.

Discussing his performance in a post-fight interview, Joshua said he wasn't 'happy' with how things went down: "I needed to do better, 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? I can't live off of that win."

Saying he's got a lot of improving he needs to do, Joshua added: "So, yeah, I'm not happy. 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. You have to be prepared. One slip-up could cost you in that ring."

He's also made a series of posts on Instagram, showing off a lethal punch against Paul and referring to it as 'Netflix and Chill'. Another shows an atmospheric montage of punches as Joshua can be heard talking over it in a series of stoic soundbites.

Despite having his jaw fractured in two places, Paul has also told his side of the story on the Impaulsive podcast. It's here that his mother said that Joshua has 'apologized' to her for leaving her son as a bit of a mess.

Pam Stepnick explained: "Even Anthony Joshua had some class and apologised to me, essentially. He worked his way through the crowd and came up to me and said: 'Mom, just know it's just boxing. It's just the fight game'."

Footage after the fight also shows Joshua approaching Stepnick and referring to her son as a 'strong guy'.

Stepnick was less warm toward promoter Eddie Hearn, who she has some strong words for: "As a mom, my aggression comes out too. I wanted to get in that ring and punch Eddie Hearn, for instance... because I don't like his smug face.

"Jake's over there struggling and he's sitting over there smiling like the cat who swallowed the canary. Guess what? Did he f**king get in the ring?"

Even though he's currently out of action, Paul is already looking for his next opponent. As for Joshua, he could also be lacing up his gloves in the near future. While knocking out Paul was Joshua's first fight since Daniel Dubois bested him in June 2024, there's a lot of buzz that he'll be taking on Tyson Fury in 2026.

Joshua has a new trainer in the form of Iegor Golub, but his mentor thinks he needs one more match before fighting the 'very dangerous' Fury. Still, Joshua has thrown down the gauntlet to Fury, saying: "And if Tyson Fury is as serious as he thinks he is, and he wants to put down his Twitter fingers and put on some gloves and come out and fight one of the realest fighters that will take on any challenge.

"Step in the ring with me next if you are a real bad boy. Don't do all of that talking 'AJ this, AJ that.' Let's see you in the ring and talk with your fists."