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Jake Paul used the full extent of an oversized boxing ring Friday to do his best to evade the heavyweight giant in front of him, Anthony Joshua, who, even with his best years behind him, remains a thunderous puncher with 245 pounds of hulking, bruising and concussive power behind many of his shots.

The crowd inside Miami's Kaseya Center booed and reaction from those watching at home was even worse, as Paul danced and avoided confrontation until he was so exhausted that he was unable to prevent in the sixth round what appeared inevitable from the start — a brutal loss by knockout.

Yet the internet sensation also had genuine moments. He landed a jab that snapped Joshua’s head back, uppercuts despite the cartoonish height difference, and occasional one-twos for good measure.

If he was seeking content, he found it. And, despite the seemingly unavoidable result, Friday's latest Netflix spectacle stands as one of the more memorable matchups of boxing's 2025.

Though he failed to hear the final bell, Paul answered the very criticism that's hounded him for years. He is no longer the creator who left YouTube just to scrap with former MMA fighters or geriatric legends.

He didn’t just take on someone his own size, in his own sport. He’s now the guy who took on one of the most significant heavyweights of the past 25 years, and though he was sent to the canvas four times and taken to hospital with a twice-broken jaw, Paul can carry forward in the sport with his head held high.

Obviously, heavyweight is not an option if he is to continue his boxing journey, but his extraordinary development from complete novice to bonafide headliner — combined with boxing’s long-manipulated structure — suggests one of the things he’s threatened for years has a real chance of coming to fruition.

"I love this s***, and I'm going to come back and win a world championship at some point,” Paul told Uncrowned’s Ariel Helwani in the ring Friday while spitting blood on account of his injuries.

We can all boo, but he also may very well be right.

Should Paul drop back to cruiserweight — his natural weight class — it is no longer outside the realm of possibility that a sanctioning body opens his path to a world title.

Current champions in the division include Gilberto "Zurdo" Ramirez, who faces David Benavidez on Cinco de Mayo 2026; Jai Opetaia, a likely future heavyweight; and Noel Mikaelian, fresh off a win over Badou Jack. Combine Jack’s recent performance with Paul’s improvements — from the way he hits the bag, moves in the ring and picks his punches — and it’s not far-fetched that Paul could last the distance at 200 pounds, provided he addresses his greatest flaw: Enduring a 36-minute fight under constant pressure.

Even Joshua gave Paul his props. “In the clinch, he done really well,” Joshua said late Friday night. “When you're in survival mode, you'll always try to find a way. He done well to tie my hands up, and when they're free, I tried to land a few body shots. I tried when I could. It was a bit messy.”

Paul’s awkwardness forced Joshua to acknowledge that he, himself, “needed to do better.” He also doubled down on a belief that, providing Paul's jaw recovers, the 28-year-old can main event once again.

“America, I think you have someone who could … dust the dirt off his shoulder and come back sometime in 2026,” Joshua said.

Paul is currently ranked No. 15 at cruiserweight by the WBA — one of boxing's four major sanctioning bodies — but faces a significant climb to reach Ramirez, the current WBA champion.

Bridgerweight — a new frontier adapted by the WBA and WBC in recent years to bridge the gap between cruiserweight and heavyweight — is an even easier division to navigate given its infancy. Currently, Kevin Lerena holds the WBC title at 225 pounds, with Muslim Gadzhimagomedov claiming WBA gold.

Boxing has never been a meritocracy but a negotiation between money, timing and opportunity, and Paul seemingly understands that better than others.

Stranger things have happened than Paul becoming a world champion in this era, which is precisely why many of the boos on a weekend like this one ring hollow.

Paul didn’t cheat boxing’s system. He simply studied it. And if the same sport that fast-tracks protected prospects now recoils at his ambition, that says far more about boxing than it ever will about him.