Global influencer and boxer Jake Paul updated fans on his condition after undergoing surgery. The cost of his glamorous challenge was brutal. His reckless choice in the ring ultimately resulted in a devastating injury: a fractured jaw.
Paul on the 24th (Korean time) shared a photo immediately after surgery on his social media and thanked medical staff and fans.
Wearing a respirator and giving a thumbs-up, Paul said, "I just finished surgery. Everything went smoothly," and "I thank everyone who cheered for me. The pain and stiffness are severe, so I have to eat only liquids for a week." In the photo, Paul's left face was severely swollen, revealing the full force of the shock he suffered in the fight and the intensity of the surgery.
The tragedy began four days earlier. Paul fought an exhibition match at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida, against monster fighter Anthony Joshua, a former undisputed heavyweight champion. The purse for the two fighters was a staggering 140 million pounds (about 270 billion won). But the gap in the ring was as large as the amount of money.
From the weigh-in the outcome was predictable. Paul weighed 216.7 pounds (98.29 kg), while Joshua boasted an overwhelming 243.4 pounds (110.40 kg). Experts agreed that "surviving the first round would be a miracle."
The match was, as expected, a one-sided display of Joshua's firepower. Joshua staggered Paul with a heavy right hook at the end of the first round, then from the second round he advanced like a tank, cornering Paul. Paul desperately latched onto clinches, but Joshua, showing obvious irritation, landed blows to the body and face without restraint.
By the fifth round, with Paul's stamina depleted, combinations slipped through his guard, and he was knocked down twice, making defeat seem likely.
The finishing blow came in the sixth round. Paul, knocked down a third time by Joshua's sharp counter, got up on willpower but was knocked down a fourth time by a subsequent flurry and a right hook.
The referee stopped the fight to prevent further danger. The result was so brutal that Joshua later approached Paul's mother in the ring and apologized.
The X-ray images released after the fight were shocking. Paul's jaw was fractured in two places. Even so, he maintained bravado with the bluster, "Let's fight Canelo Álvarez within 10 days."
But observers at the scene were sober. Famous promoter Eddie Hearn warned, "There are many boxers who disappeared from the ring after a jaw fracture," and said, "Paul may never be able to box again."
Former boxer Chris Algieri also analyzed, "Both sides of the jaw being broken is a very serious injury that accompanies tooth loss. Expecting the same performance as before is almost impossible."
Starting as a YouTuber, Paul defeated Tyron Woodley and Anderson Silva and even brought Mike Tyson into the ring; after a reckless challenge against a true heavyweight champion, he suffered the biggest injury of his career. Still, the $92 million (about 13.64 billion won) purse he will take home seems enough to cover this entire tragedy with a bitter laugh.
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