Jake Paul and Anthony Joshua given brutal warning by ref mid-fight
Anthony Joshua and Jake Paul were both given a brutal warning by the referee during their fight live on Netflix this evening.
The two boxers came face to face in Miami on Friday evening (19 December), where anything other than a Joshua knockout would have been one of the biggest upsets in sporting history.
The 36-year-old had promised to show 'no mercy' to his influencer opponent at the Kaseya Center, but he wasn't allowed to by Paul, who spent much of the first five rounds either running around the ropes, or falling on the floor.
Paul, who had suggested that this was 'Judgement Day' for his former heavyweight champion opponent, only started to throw meaningful punches at his much larger opponent as he began to tire, which opened up the opportunity for Joshua to eventually win by knockout in the sixth round.
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Both boxers have now been banned after the fight's conclusion, although many fans may well have argued that Paul's ban should be extended, given his tactics on the night, which often saw him falling over, running around and hugging Joshua to prevent him from getting punches away.
While Joshua paid his opponent a lot of respect in his victory speech, it seems as if referee Christopher Young was far less impressed with the influencer's antics in the ring.
After several instances of Paul falling to the floor without being punished with a knockdown, he eventually brought the two fighters together and stopped everything momentarily to deliver a frankly iconic quote.
He said: "The fans did not pay to see this c**p, if you’re going to fight, fight."
Thankfully, it seems as if both boxers heeded his words as it was a far more entertaining affair after this and perhaps both men were able to escape the fight with their dignity and reputations intact, as Paul did well to keep coming back after a number of knockdowns, while Joshua persevered and got the job done eventually, after getting frustrated with his opponent on a number of occasions.
Following the victory, Joshua said: "It wasn't the best performance. The end goal was to pin Jake Paul down and hurt him. That has been the request leading up, that was on my mind.
"It took a bit longer than expected, but the right hand finally found the destination.
"Jake Paul has done really well tonight, I want to give him the props. He got up time and time again. It was difficult in there for him, but he kept trying to find a way. It takes a real man to do that.
"You have to give Jake credit for trying, but he came up against a real fighter tonight."
Topics: Anthony Joshua, Jake Paul, Boxing, Netflix
James Moorhouse