The knockout will go down as the highlight of the fight.
But another lingering image from Anthony Joshua’s victory over Jake Paul by knockout is Paul repeatedly falling to the canvas, eliciting boos from the crowd at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Dec. 19.
In what appeared to be a deliberate tactic, an exhausted-looking Paul fell to the mat no fewer than six times during the heavyweight bout that ended in Round 6. Online, some commenters accused Paul of attempting MMA-style ‘takedowns,” and once Joshua fell onto Paul.
But none of it prevented Joshua from knocking out Paul in the sixth round – or from breaking Paul’s jaw in two places. But it triggered a debate that continues: Were the falls an ugly tactic that warranted a point deduction from Paul.
The referee, Chris Young, brought both fighters together after Paul fell for the fifth time in Round 5.
“Listen, these tactics have got to stop, OK?’’ Young said while looking at Paul. “…You’re going fight, fight. But within the rules, OK?’’
Young let the fight go without deducting a point, as he did in Round 6 after Paul fell yet again.
“Their fight went the way it went,’’ Young told USA TODAY Sports Wednesday Dec. 24. ‘Ugly fight, sloppy fight.’’
Young said he needed clearance from the Florida Athletic Commission before speaking any more about the fight.
What well-regarded referees say
Robert Byrd and Kenny Bayless are retired referees who have been inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame. They expressed compassion for Young, the 44-year-old referee from Florida who was officiating the high-profile boxing match livestreamed by Netflix.
“I think he did the best he could,’’ Byrd said. “Kenny or I at some point would have probably called time and said, ‘Look, you got to quit whatever it is that you’re doing here. That’s got to stop, period.’ And then if it didn’t stop, we would probably… have deducted a point for unsportsmanlike conduct.’’
Bayless said he didn’t have a problem with what Young did.
“I probably would’ve done basically the same thing because usually when fighters are going forward and falling like that is because usually their legs are starting to get weak,’’ he said. “And to me, with the amount of movement that Jake did from trying to stay away from Joshua caused his legs to get weak….
“There isn’t a whole lot that a referee he can do in a situation like that other than give him some light warnings and tell him to be mindful of what you’re doing.’’
Jack Reiss, a highly regarded referee who retired in 2024, defended Young.
“He was trying to survive,’’ Reiss said of Paul. “And Chris did a great job because he understood what was in front of him. You know what I mean? Jake was hurting and trying to survive. And when fighters are trying to survive, to fight, they’ll do anything to survive. Why would you penalize him on it?’’
‘It’s not a wrestling match’
The repeated falls were a topic of discussion this week when Jake Paul’s brother, Logan, invited his mother, Pam Stepnick, to his podcast.
It turned out Jake Paul’s mother was not a fan of the move.
“I yelled, ‘Stop, it’s not a wrestling match,’“ Stepnick said, noting that was before hearing more about it.
Logan Paul bristled at accusations that his brother was attempting takedowns. Of the falls, Logan Paul said, “It’s a strategy that optically looks very bad but it’s conservation of energy…’’ He said he inquired about it while watching Jake Paul train for the fight.
Cassius Chaney, one of Paul’s sparring partners during training camp, confirmed to USA TODAY Sports that the falling is something Paul was working on leading up to the fight.
“They wanted (Paul) to just go with the flow of the big man’s weight,’’ Chaney said, referring to Joshua. “They didn’t want him to fight the push down (from Joshua) because it would fatigue him quicker.’’
And in the end, the tactic did not spare Jake Paul one last fall, following the knockout punch.