Boxing
The Jake Paul show isn’t over yet, but where is it going?
Published
10 months agoon
At the time of the announcement of the Jake Paul-Anthony Joshua heavyweight fight, Paul’s critics were calling for Joshua, a former two-time unified heavyweight champion, to end the social media personality-turned-boxer’s boxing career. Well, to paraphrase Mark Twain’s eminent, oft-misquoted line: “The reports of Jake Paul’s death have been greatly exaggerated.”
Paul was outclassed, fell four times and knocked out in the sixth round by Joshua during Friday’s fight in Miami. It wasn’t pretty as Paul kept circling and clinching, but Joshua finally caught up with the tiring Paul with a stunning straight right hand that ended the fight and, according to Paul, broke his jaw.
Immediately afterwards, Paul’s skeptics celebrated that what they called a farce was over. However, after the defeat, Paul made it clear that his boxing career would continue.
“I’m going to come back and fight people my weight and at some point win the world cruiserweight championship,” Paul said. “I’m going to take a little break. I’ve been training challenging for six years, so I’m going to take some time off.”
Joshua’s promoter, Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Sport, believes Paul’s boxing career should continue if that is what he wants.
“Hats off to Jake,” Hearn told ESPN after the fight. “It’s really challenging to get back up after a broken jaw, but that last shot AJ hit him with would have knocked out a lot of heavyweights. He went down challenging, but he was conscious on the floor. It was a one-sided fight – it was always going to be a one-sided fight – but you can’t give him anything but appreciation and respect.”
Joshua, the 2012 Olympic gold medalist from Great Britain, also commented on Paul’s future.
“America, I think you have someone who could potentially come back, dust himself off and come back sometime in 2026. Maybe against Gervonta Davis or Ryan Garcia, who knows?”
So there it is. The Jake Paul Boxing Show isn’t over yet. But the question is: where does he go from here?
The next chapter of Paul’s career will be the hardest to understand for Paul, who will turn 29 in January. Up to this point, he had done quite well in his career, combining business with entertainment. He chose the right opponents, those with enough skill to compete. However, if he wants to be taken seriously after 14 professional fights, he can’t go back and fight another MMA fighter after stepping into the ring with the former two-time heavyweight champion. He also cannot risk defeat against another opponent who has much more experience than him.
Paul has regularly hinted that he wants to fight for the cruiserweight world title, but the list of champions he would have to choose to achieve that goal poses some problems. Neither IBF champion Jai Opetaia, WBO and WBA champion Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez, nor WBC’s Noel Mikaelian are household names who will do gigantic business with him, and all of them are champions for a reason. On the other hand, it will be increasingly challenging for Paul to attract fans to another fight against someone who is either much older, not a full-time boxer, or is undersized.
When Paul decides to return, you can be sure he will receive just as much, if not more, attention. His next move will create ripples, positive or negative. What he did by stepping into the ring with a brutal performer like Joshua is proof that he has the heart, fortitude and determination to compete. However, there are levels of competition and he was vastly outmatched and outclassed. There will be questions about his game plan of cruising around the ring reluctant to throw punches. For a showman like Paul, this strategy was not fun at all, a 180 degree difference from his previous fights.
He took several edged shots from the former heavyweight champion and not only lasted over five rounds, but continued to walk out of the ring until, according to Paul’s social media post, his jaw was broken in two places. He could get over it after the first knockdown, but he didn’t want to stay on the canvas. In his desperate attempts to survive, he was barely able to stay upright and dived for clinches that turned into takedowns. But that’s what happens when you go beyond your depth. You will drown.
His critics will continue to voice their complaints, but they will likely remain reluctant to see the next phase of Paul’s career. His fans will drool over his every move and continue to cheer the unlikely rise of an influential fighter who has chosen to pursue a side hustle in boxing and an extremely lucrative gig. Everyone in between may be curious as to when his next fight will be announced, depending on the opponent.
Paul is gigantic business and there will always be room for someone who is as drawn to sports as he is.
Ultimately, it will be up to Paul to decide whether he is willing to sacrifice business to advance his goal of a world title shot, or whether he will accept an invitation to another so-called “circus fight” against a smaller fighter like Ryan Garcia or Gervonta “Tank” Davis. Either way, Paul has a choice, and the journey he’s on is now entering its next phase.
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Boxing
Lucas Bahdi Calls for Schofield Rematch After Controversial Knockdown Calls
Published
3 hours agoon
October 19, 2026
Most Valuable Promotions has formally challenged Lucas Bahdi’s defeat against Floyd Schofield III, petitioning the WBA for an immediate rematch after claiming uncalled knockdowns cost their fighter the vacant lightweight world championship.
The promotional outfit submitted video footage alongside detailed documentation to the WBA following the October 10 clash in Chicago. MVP maintains that if the referee had correctly recognized and scored the disputed incidents, Bahdi would have emerged with a majority decision win instead of leaving the ring empty-handed.
Schofield took the vacant belt by unanimous decision, capturing wide margins on the official cards with scores of 116 to 110, 115 to 111, and a steep 119 to 108. Bahdi’s side now wants the sanctioning body to grant another title opportunity, arguing that multiple officiating blunders corrupted those final numbers.
“The video evidence demonstrates multiple significant officiating errors that directly impacted the outcome of the fight,” MVP said in its statement.
“Our review shows that had these knockdowns been properly ruled and scored, Lucas would have won the WBA lightweight world championship by majority decision.”
That claim sounds bold on paper, yet MVP failed to provide the necessary receipts to back it up. The public release never identified which specific rounds contained the uncalled drops, nor did it offer an adjusted scorecard breakdown to illustrate how Bahdi overturned an eleven-point deficit on the widest card.
Rather than rehashing standard complaints about judges favoring the house fighter, MVP pinned the blame directly on the third man in the ring. The core of their protest argues that referee mistakes prevented the judges from scoring mandatory 10 to 8 rounds, skewing the overall totals.
“We have submitted our findings to the WBA and requested an immediate rematch,” MVP said.
Securing a second fight remains an uphill climb. A rematch forces Schofield to revisit an opponent he already officially conquered, and lodging a protest never guarantees the WBA will order the boxers back into the ring. The sanctioning body has not issued a ruling on the video review, leaving MVP’s victory claim as promotional posturing until officials deliver a verdict.

About the author
Boxing News 24 Desk
BoxingNews24.com has delivered independent boxing coverage since 2007, including original news, fight analysis, schedules, and results. Our experienced boxing writers cover major fighters and events worldwide, with published content reviewed by editors for accuracy.
Boxing
Lucas Bahdi Calls for Schofield Rematch After Controversial Knockdown Decision
Published
3 hours agoon
October 19, 2026
Most Valuable Promotions has formally challenged Lucas Bahdi’s defeat against Floyd Schofield III, petitioning the WBA for an immediate rematch after claiming uncalled knockdowns cost their fighter the vacant lightweight world championship.
The promotional outfit submitted video footage alongside detailed documentation to the WBA following the October 10 clash in Chicago. MVP maintains that if the referee had correctly recognized and scored the disputed incidents, Bahdi would have emerged with a majority decision win instead of leaving the ring empty-handed.
Schofield took the vacant belt by unanimous decision, capturing wide margins on the official cards with scores of 116 to 110, 115 to 111, and a steep 119 to 108. Bahdi’s side now wants the sanctioning body to grant another title opportunity, arguing that multiple officiating blunders corrupted those final numbers.
“The video evidence demonstrates multiple significant officiating errors that directly impacted the outcome of the fight,” MVP said in its statement.
“Our review shows that had these knockdowns been properly ruled and scored, Lucas would have won the WBA lightweight world championship by majority decision.”
That claim sounds bold on paper, yet MVP failed to provide the necessary receipts to back it up. The public release never identified which specific rounds contained the uncalled drops, nor did it offer an adjusted scorecard breakdown to illustrate how Bahdi overturned an eleven-point deficit on the widest card.
Rather than rehashing standard complaints about judges favoring the house fighter, MVP pinned the blame directly on the third man in the ring. The core of their protest argues that referee mistakes prevented the judges from scoring mandatory 10 to 8 rounds, skewing the overall totals.
“We have submitted our findings to the WBA and requested an immediate rematch,” MVP said.
Securing a second fight remains an uphill climb. A rematch forces Schofield to revisit an opponent he already officially conquered, and lodging a protest never guarantees the WBA will order the boxers back into the ring. The sanctioning body has not issued a ruling on the video review, leaving MVP’s victory claim as promotional posturing until officials deliver a verdict.

About the author
Boxing News 24 Desk
BoxingNews24.com has delivered independent boxing coverage since 2007, including original news, fight analysis, schedules, and results. Our experienced boxing writers cover major fighters and events worldwide, with published content reviewed by editors for accuracy.
Boxing
Does Oleksandr Usyk Need a Rematch with Daniel Dubois?
Published
3 hours agoon
October 19, 2026
Daniel Dubois’ second-round stoppage of Fabio Wardley gives Oleksandr Usyk another possible opponent for his farewell fight. It also raises a harder question: how much would Usyk gain by beating someone he has already stopped twice?
Dubois retained his WBO heavyweight title on Saturday in London, rebuilding interest in a third meeting with the unbeaten Ukrainian. Usyk stopped him in nine rounds in 2023 and five rounds in their 2025 rematch. Those results leave Dubois needing the fight far more than Usyk does.
At 39, Usyk is choosing how to finish his career rather than working his way toward another championship opportunity. He has already become undisputed champion at cruiserweight and heavyweight, with two victories apiece over Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury and Dubois.
That leaves a shortage of unfinished business.
A proposed Deontay Wilder fight would have offered a recognizable opponent Usyk had never faced. However, those negotiations have reportedly collapsed, with Fury and David Benavidez emerging as alternatives for a possible final appearance.
Fury’s appeal depends heavily on his December 11 fight with Joshua. A strong victory would give promoters something fresh to sell: Fury returning from that British heavyweight clash to take another run at the man who beat him twice in 2024. A defeat would make a third Usyk fight considerably harder to justify.
Dubois has strengthened his own case by stopping Wardley twice this year. Yet beating Wardley does not answer the technical questions Usyk posed in their previous meetings. Dubois would still need to show he can land consistently against Usyk’s movement and avoid being drawn into a fight where the Ukrainian controls the pace.
Benavidez would offer a different opponent and a fresh style, although his ability to compete with Usyk at heavyweight remains untested.
Usyk’s next fight needs more than a famous name or another belt attached to it. A Dubois trilogy would give the younger man a chance to overturn two defeats. The challenge for its backers is explaining why Usyk should spend his final appearance giving him that opportunity.
About the author
Ken Hissner
Ken Hissner is a senior boxing journalist at Boxing News 24 with more than 20 years of experience covering the sport. Known for his ringside reporting, detailed results, and historical perspective, he delivers authoritative coverage of boxing across eras.
Lucas Bahdi Calls for Schofield Rematch After Controversial Knockdown Decision
Lucas Bahdi Calls for Schofield Rematch After Controversial Knockdown Calls
Does Oleksandr Usyk Need a Rematch with Daniel Dubois?
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