Former world heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis says Jake Paul is “not in good shape” heading into his fight with Anthony Joshua.
The British heavyweight stopped boxing novice Paul after failing to beat a count in the sixth round.
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“Paul is not in good form, especially for a heavyweight like this,” Lewis told Netflix.
“After a few rounds, it turned out that he was basically sitting there waiting to get hit.”
The three-time world champion believes Joshua’s 15-month absence from the ring is the reason for his previous failure to stop the YouTuber-turned-boxer.
The fight with Paul is his first since defeating Daniel Dubois at Wembley Stadium in September 2024.
“When Anthony said he’d been out for 15 months, it showed that,” Lewis added.
“He needs a few rounds to warm up and get used to the ring again before he punches.
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“He did what he had to do. There was a guy in front of him running around the ring and he had to catch up to him.”
Former super middleweight Andre Ward wasn’t that harsh on Paul’s initial performance.
“When Paul gets tired, he panics,” Ward said. “It was a sign of fatigue. He helped Joshua get out of some trouble because he had good success early on.
“You’ve got to give Joshua a little grace as well, and Jake Paul is good enough to keep things interesting for a while.”
“Respect Paul” – Eubank
Paul has never been knocked out in his boxing career [Getty Images]
Boxing manager Sam Jones wrote on X that the scene was “terrible” but that there was a certain respect for Paul within the boxing community.
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Chris Eubank Jr was among those who praised the American.
Eubank wrote on
“You have to respect him now. He did things that most people would never do, and he didn’t give up.”
Former world heavyweight champion David Haye also believes Paul deserves respect for surviving the six-round fight.
“Joshua is trying a little too hard. It’s not about winning, it’s about how he wins,” Haye said in the early stages.
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He then added: “Jake Paul was competitive there. Anthony Joshua was frustrated in the early rounds.”