STWF Sports | Dec. 24, 2025 – Jake Paul may still be nursing a shattered jaw, but the YouTuber-turned-boxer is already looking beyond the wreckage of his defeat to Anthony Joshua and toward another blockbuster name.
Paul’s venture into heavyweight boxing came to a violent halt in Miami, where a ferocious right hand from Joshua fractured his jaw in two places and ended their bout in the sixth round. The 28-year-old was rushed into surgery shortly after the fight and placed on a liquid-only diet during the initial stages of his recovery. Yet even while speaking through visible discomfort, Paul wasted little time in reigniting the promotional machine that has defined his rise in combat sports.
Appearing on the Impaulsive podcast with brother Logan Paul, Jake set his sights on former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou. Speaking with a noticeable lisp as he continues to recover, Paul insisted he would fare better against Ngannou than the Cameroonian did in his own high-profile boxing outings.
“I told everyone that I would do better than Francis,” Paul said. “Francis has kind of got no chin. Francis is low-key soft.”
The comments were striking, given the recent trajectory of both men. Ngannou crossed into boxing to widespread intrigue last year, pushing Tyson Fury to a split-decision loss in a bout that earned him instant credibility despite the official defeat. That performance briefly placed Ngannou among boxing’s heavyweight contenders and even saw him enter the WBC rankings.
Any momentum, however, was brutally halted when Ngannou faced Joshua earlier this year. The former UFC champion was dropped three times and knocked out cold in the second round, the same right hand that would later dismantle Paul. While Ngannou showed remarkable toughness by rising from the canvas twice, the result reinforced the gulf between elite boxing operators and crossover challengers.
Paul’s interest in Ngannou is not new. The American has previously explored the possibility of fighting the Cameroonian, particularly when Gervonta Davis’ name briefly fell out of contention amid off-ring controversy. At the time, Ngannou publicly dismissed the idea, arguing that the matchup lacked logic.
“How can they go from Gervonta Davis to Francis Ngannou?” Ngannou said. “It makes no sense. Gervonta Davis is a fantastic boxer, but we’re way different.”
That stance may now be tested by economics rather than sporting logic. Paul’s bout with Joshua reportedly attracted 33 million global viewers on Netflix, with both fighters believed to have earned in excess of $70 million. Those numbers underline Paul’s ability to generate events, regardless of outcome, and make any potential matchup involving him difficult to ignore.
From Paul’s perspective, a fight with Ngannou represents both a narrative opportunity and a physical risk. The Cameroonian remains one of the most intimidating punchers in combat sports, even after his loss to Joshua. For Paul, who absorbed four knockdowns against the former unified heavyweight champion, another encounter with elite power would carry obvious danger.
There is also the matter of time. Reports suggest Paul could be sidelined for as long as nine months due to the severity of his jaw injury. The fracture reportedly ran through the roots of his teeth, potentially requiring dental implants followed by crowns, a process that could extend his recovery well into next year.
For now, Paul’s boxing future remains on pause, but his ambition clearly does not. Whether his comments toward Ngannou amount to genuine belief or calculated provocation, they underline a familiar pattern: setbacks rarely quiet Paul, they simply redirect him.
As the dust settles on his first heavyweight experiment, Paul’s next move will depend on both his physical recovery and the willingness of another high-profile opponent to step into the spotlight. If nothing else, even with his jaw wired and his body battered, Jake Paul remains determined to keep the conversation — and the cameras — firmly on him.
