Jake Paul went from YouTube fame to a Tyson win, two defeats and a broken jaw

Jake Paul came to boxing as a famous internet personality and turned that fame into one of the sport's biggest box-office draws. Since his professional debut in January 2020 he has fought fourteen times, beaten a 58-year-old Mike Tyson in front of a stadium crowd, lost to Tommy Fury and Anthony Joshua, and built his own promotional company. As of November 2026 he is preparing to return from a broken jaw.

From Vine and Disney Channel to the Ring

Jake Joseph Paul was born on 17 January 1997 in Cleveland, Ohio, and grew up in nearby Westlake. He and his older brother, Logan Paul, both built audiences online before either of them had thrown a punch in public. Jake started posting short videos on Vine in September 2013 and opened his YouTube channel in May 2014.

That following brought him a role as Dirk Mann on the Disney Channel series Bizaardvark from 2016. His time there ended in 2017, after neighbours complained about his pranks and the crowds of fans they drew. Paul later said he had been fired.

His first fight with gloves on came in August 2018 in Manchester, England, against fellow YouTuber Deji Olatunji. It was a white-collar bout rather than a sanctioned amateur contest, and Paul won it by stoppage in the fifth round.

Turning Professional Against Fellow Influencers and Retired Athletes

Paul made his professional debut on 30 January 2020 in Miami against the British YouTuber AnEsonGib. Sky Sports reported that Paul dropped his opponent with a right hand to the temple and that the referee halted the contest at 2:18 of the first round. Reports differ on how many knockdowns he scored.

His second fight, in November 2020 at Staples Center in Los Angeles, came against Nate Robinson as the co-main event beneath Mike Tyson's exhibition with Roy Jones Jr. Robinson, a former NBA guard and three-time Slam Dunk champion, was 36 and making his boxing debut. Paul put him down three times and finished it at 1:35 of the second round, according to CBS Sports.

The opponents that followed were drawn from mixed martial arts. Ben Askren, a veteran mixed martial artist, was stopped in the first round in Atlanta in April 2021. Tyron Woodley, another fighter from the MMA world, took Paul the full eight rounds in Cleveland in August 2021, with Paul winning a split decision. In the rematch in Tampa that December, Paul knocked him out in the sixth round. In October 2022 he outpointed Anderson Silva, another long-serving MMA name, over eight rounds in Glendale, Arizona.

The Tommy Fury Defeat in Saudi Arabia

Critics had argued that Paul had never faced an active professional boxer. That changed on 26 February 2023 in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia, where he met the unbeaten British boxer Tommy Fury, who was 9-0 according to ESPN. The bout was scheduled for eight rounds at cruiserweight.

ESPN reported that referee Hector Afu deducted a point from Paul in the fifth round for pushing Fury's head down in the clinches, and took a point from Fury in the sixth for excessive holding. Paul scored a knockdown in the final round, which ESPN described as coming from a jab while other outlets called it a short left. It was not enough. The scorecards read 76-73 and 76-73 for Fury and 75-74 for Paul, giving Fury a split decision and handing Paul his first professional loss. Paul disputed the scoring, cited illness and an arm injury during camp, and said he would exercise the rematch clause in his contract. The rematch never took place.

Rebuilding Through 2023 and 2024

Paul returned in August 2023 against Nate Diaz, the MMA fighter, in Dallas. The bout went ten rounds and Paul won a unanimous decision. He then put together a run of quick finishes: Andre August was knocked out in the first round in Orlando in December 2023, and Ryan Bourland was stopped in the opening round in San Juan, Puerto Rico, in March 2024.

His fight with Mike Tyson had first been set for 20 July 2024, but it was postponed after Tyson suffered an ulcer flare-up on a flight. Paul stayed busy on that date in Tampa, stopping the MMA fighter Mike Perry in the sixth round.

Mike Tyson in Arlington, Texas

The rescheduled bout with Tyson took place at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on the night of 15 November 2024 local time, which British outlets such as Sky Sports dated 16 November. Texas regulators sanctioned it as a professional contest over eight rounds, and Netflix streamed it worldwide. Sky Sports put the crowd at 70,000. Tyson was 58 years old and had not fought competitively in 19 years. Paul, then 27, was making his heavyweight debut.

The judges scored it 80-72, 79-73 and 79-73 for Paul. The fight itself drew heavy criticism for its lack of action. Paul said afterward he had not wanted to hurt Tyson, whom he described as just surviving in the ring. Sky Sports questioned whether the bout should have been sanctioned as professional boxing at all. Commercially, though, it was a landmark. Wikipedia records it as the largest boxing gate in the United States outside Las Vegas.

Julio César Chávez Jr. and the Push Toward the Rankings

In June 2025 Paul faced Julio César Chávez Jr., the 39-year-old former WBC middleweight champion and son of the legendary fighter who shares his name, over ten rounds at cruiserweight at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. ESPN reported that Chávez landed only nine punches in the first five rounds. Paul won a unanimous decision on cards of 99-91, 97-93 and 98-92, moving to 12-1 with seven knockouts.

The win earned Paul a place in the WBA's cruiserweight top 15. A planned bout with Gervonta Davis in November 2025 was later cancelled.

Anthony Joshua and the Broken Jaw

Paul's next opponent was Anthony Joshua, the 2012 Olympic gold medallist and two-time world heavyweight champion. They met on 19 December 2025 at the Kaseya Center in Miami in a non-title heavyweight bout streamed by Netflix. Al Jazeera reported a combined purse of about $184m.

The size and experience gap showed. Paul spent long stretches moving away and going to the canvas while tying up Joshua's legs, and referee Christopher Young openly rebuked the quality of the action in the fourth round. Joshua dropped Paul twice in the fifth, then knocked him out in the sixth with a right hand to the chin. Al Jazeera's punch figures had Joshua landing 48 of 146 shots, against 16 landed by Paul. It was the first stoppage defeat of Paul's career. Afterward he said: "I think my jaw is broken by the way."

Scans showed the jaw was broken in two places. He needed surgery, including titanium plates, and he dropped out of the WBA cruiserweight rankings. In a May 2026 interview he said his boxing future was in doubt, before adding that he expected to be cleared for sparring within a few months.

Most Valuable Promotions and the Business of Boxing

Paul's influence extends well beyond his own fights. In 2021 he co-founded Most Valuable Promotions with his adviser, Nakisa Bidarian. The company's first signing, in September 2021, was the Puerto Rican seven-division world champion Amanda Serrano. In 2022 MVP co-promoted her fight with Katie Taylor at Madison Square Garden alongside Matchroom Boxing, an event named Event of the Year by The Ring. In 2023 MVP and DAZN launched a regular series of events for prospects.

Professional Record and Titles

As of November 2026, Jake Paul's professional record stands at 12 wins and 2 losses with no draws, according to Wikipedia and Al Jazeera. Seven of the wins came by knockout or stoppage. The two defeats were a split decision against Tommy Fury in February 2023 and a sixth-round knockout against Anthony Joshua in December 2025.

Paul has not won a world title from any of the four major sanctioning bodies. His highest recognition from a sanctioning body was a place inside the WBA's top 15 at cruiserweight after the Chávez Jr. fight, which he lost after the Joshua defeat. The WBC Diriyah belt contested in the Fury fight went to Fury.

A Christmas Eve Comeback in Dubai

On 2 November 2026, Most Valuable Promotions announced that Paul would return against Cédric Doumbé, the Cameroon-born French former kickboxing world champion who now competes in mixed martial arts. The bout is set for 24 December 2026 in Dubai over eight rounds at cruiserweight, and the promoter has described it as professionally sanctioned. It will be Paul's first fight in a year and his first since the jaw injury, and its outcome will go a long way toward deciding how much of his boxing career is still ahead of him.

Sources

• Jake Paul, Wikipedia, accessed 13 November 2026
• Jake Paul KOs AnEsonGib in one, Sky Sports, 31 January 2020
• Tommy Fury hands Jake Paul first loss with split-decision win, ESPN, 26 February 2023
• Jake Paul vs. Nate Robinson fight results and highlights, CBS Sports, 29 November 2020
• Jake Paul claims unanimous decision win over Mike Tyson, Sky Sports, 16 November 2024
• Jake Paul tops Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., improves to 12-1, ESPN, 29 June 2025
• Anthony Joshua knocks out Jake Paul in sixth round of heavyweight bout, Al Jazeera, 20 December 2025
• Jake Paul to fight MMA star Cedric Doumbe, Al Jazeera, 2 November 2026