The Daniel Cormier Show - DC REACTS to Anthony Joshua KNOCKING OUT Jake Paul | Boxing Instant Reaction

Summary

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Podcast Summary: The Daniel Cormier Show – DC REACTS to Anthony Joshua KNOCKING OUT Jake Paul | Boxing Instant Reaction

Podcast: The Herd with Colin Cowherd
Episode Date: December 21, 2025

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Overview

In this episode, Daniel Cormier delivers a passionate, unscripted reaction to the much-hyped boxing match between heavyweight Anthony Joshua and internet sensation-turned-boxer Jake Paul. The bout, which ended with Joshua knocking out Paul, serves as a focal point for Cormier’s analysis of spectacle, legitimacy, and risk in modern boxing—especially as “celebrity boxing” meets the sport’s true elite. DC praises Joshua for defending boxing’s pride, critiques the staging of the fight, and surprisingly shows newfound respect for Jake Paul’s gumption. This is an episode filled with sharp insight, fight breakdowns, industry context, and memorable candid commentary.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Pre-Fight Expectations and the Stakes for Boxing

• Celebrating Reality Over Fairy Tale:
  • Cormier opens by quashing the idea that Jake Paul had any real shot at victory:
    • “Whoever believed that Jake Paul was going to win, that was an absolute fairy tale.” (05:09-05:19)
  • He jokes about a friend betting on Paul and predicts the inevitability of Joshua’s win.
• Boxing's Reputation at Risk:
  • DC frames the fight as critical for boxing’s integrity, especially with Joshua as a representative of the sport:
    • “First and foremost, you can't lose to a guy that's perceived to be a YouTuber—even though today Jake Paul is more boxer than YouTuber.” (05:32-05:45)

2. Jake Paul’s Transformation and Courage

• Not Just a Gimmick:
  • Cormier acknowledges the seriousness of Paul’s dedication, pointing out his million-dollar training camps and full commitment:
    • “He’s a boxer. He’s just not a boxer at that level.” (05:52-05:56)
  • DC recalls a conversation with Logan Paul, confirming that there were “no safeguards” to protect Jake against Joshua’s knockout power.
• Unexpected Respect:
  • Cormier concedes Jake Paul’s toughness:
    • “Dude’s got balls. Standing there with AJ…” (06:27)
    • “Hats off to him; he got up and he kept fighting.” (09:18)

3. Fight Breakdown: Tactics and Turning Points

• Early Rounds: Paul’s Game Plan Works—Briefly
  • Jake Paul aims to frustrate Joshua by moving and clinching, resulting in an uneventful first round:
    • “In the first round, neither one of them landed a damn punch... This is a nightmare.” (06:53-07:10)
    • DC laments the slow pace and intrusive refereeing, noting multiple clinches and even MMA-style “double legs.”
    • Notable Quote:
      • “Jake is out there shooting double legs on AJ. The ref looked like he was going to take a point—never took a point.” (07:24-07:31)
• Joshua’s Adjustments and Growing Dominance
  • Joshua’s persistence with the jab and bodywork wears Paul down:
    • “By the fifth round, he knocked him down twice... body shots putting him down.” (08:15-08:28)
  • Paul shows grit by getting up after knockdowns, at times appearing injured or on the brink of quitting.
• The Sixth Round and Climax
  • Cormier describes the anticipation and then the brutal finish:
    • “In the sixth round, you could just tell it was over… Joshua was going to eventually land something that hurt Jake Paul.” (09:42-09:55)
    • Boxing insiders wanted a definitive, even punishing finish:
      • “Rosendo... goes, ‘I hope he gets knocked out bad. He didn’t want it to get TKO; they wanted Paul to get absolutely destroyed.’” (09:56-10:10)
    • Notable Quote:
      • “That right hand... oh my god. He took all of that right hand. You could see in his face he was like, 'Okay, now I understand boxing.'” (10:19-10:30)

4. The Aftermath and Broader Implications

• Fitting Narrative Conclusion
  • Cormier ties the fight’s outcome to a satisfying story arc:
    • “Sometimes a story ends in the way that the story should end. It always should have ended with Anthony Joshua knocking out Jake Paul and that's exactly what we got.” (11:08-11:18)
• Should Paul Get More Credit?
  • DC urges fans and boxing purists to recognize Paul’s courage, reminding listeners that few with so little experience would challenge an elite heavyweight.
  • On Paul’s next steps:
    • “Does he go back to fighting people that don’t belong in there with him or does he… continue this upwards path into fighting these super high level boxers?” (11:45-12:00)

5. Significance for Boxing and Celebrity Crossover

• Cormier argues this was one of the most-watched fights Joshua has had in a while and that Paul’s star power, like Conor McGregor, brings unprecedented visibility.
  • “This has to be one of the biggest… fights AJ's had in a while in terms of visibility… excitement… and it was the least challenging and least threatening fight that he's had.” (12:10-12:22)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• DC's Blunt Realism:
  • “I just put twenty on Jake Paul to win. I was like, bro, you just wasted your money.” (05:12)
• A Turning Point for Jake Paul:
  • “He’s the only one outside of Conor McGregor that could fight this level of fight at his experience and draw in the type of crowd they drew in tonight.” (12:00-12:12)
• Vindication for Boxing:
  • In conversation with his friend Rodrigo about what would’ve happened if Paul had survived:
    • “Would it look bad for boxing?”
      • “Yeah, for sure, it would.” (13:31-13:40)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 05:00: DC begins instant reaction, lays out his disbelief in Paul’s chances.
• 06:20: Analysis of Paul’s seriousness as a boxer; recounting conversation with Logan Paul.
• 07:00 – 08:00: Round-by-round breakdown; critique of pace and tactics.
• 08:30 – 09:30: Joshua’s dominance; Paul’s resilience despite knockdowns.
• 09:42: The sixth round: knockout, DC and Rosendo’s reactions.
• 11:10: Reflections on the narrative arc and DC’s evolving respect for Jake Paul.
• 12:00: Discussion of the event’s magnitude and potential next moves for Paul.
• 13:31: Closing comments with Rodrigo on how critical Joshua’s KO was for boxing’s image.

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Bottom Line

Daniel Cormier offers both an entertaining and respectful critique of Jake Paul’s effort while celebrating Anthony Joshua’s emphatic win as a reaffirmation of boxing’s hierarchy. The episode is a must-listen for both fight fans and skeptics of celebrity boxing, offering honest analysis, humor, and a behind-the-scenes feel that captures the spectacle’s significance.

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Transcript

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so i watched all the pundits talking about the fight even rosendo my boxing coach i was like does anthony joshua represent boxing everybody from that world felt like anthony joshua was representing boxing and as the fight started to go on first off he was representing boxing so they wanted him to get the job done all right first and foremost you can't lose to a guy that's perceived to be a youtuber even though today jake paul is more boxer than youtuber i've said this time and time again when you have resources when you can spend a million dollars a year on training camps housing food coaches this is not recreational anymore he's a boxer he's just not a boxer at that level i ran into his brother in new york city and i said to logan what parameters are in place logan what safeguards do they have to make sure that anthony joshua doesn't hurt your brother he said there are none he goes they're gonna just straight fight so in that regard you gotta give credit to jake paul he fought anthony joshua i swear to god i thought it was a gimmick in the beginning i thought that's why he was calling guys out like myself tyrone woodley anderson silva and then he lost to tommy fury i was like well that's the last time he'll fight a boxer but dude dude's got balls dude's got balls standing there with aj who had been off so his chin is refreshed he's ready to fight so the fight starts joshua cannot catch up to jake you could see very clearly that the game plan was for paul to kind of run and frustrate anthony joshua over the course of this fight and through the first few rounds it was working hell in the first round neither one of them landed a damn punch and that's the problem with boxing the problem with boxing is you can get these fights that have all this hype and nothing happens in mma ninety eighty percent of the time there's action five stars there's not much action the announcers even said they thought jake might have won the first round because he landed one punch i'm thinking to myself this is a nightmare the referee is completely lost jake is out there shooting double legs on aj the ref looked like he was going to take a point never took a point you could just see paul getting tired i also saw the referee gave him a break for a low blow when jake shot a double and all aj did was stuff his head nothing landed then when it showed it what landed was he pulled joshua on top of him and his knee hit him in the stomach hey it was exactly what you thought it was going to be at points but it was even better as the fight went on because you saw joshua starting to kind of get off on pause so anthony joshua is fight trying to find him as the fight goes longer all those big actions the shots the big overhand rights all those things were starting to fatigue paul so joshua keeps stalking keep stalking i always say you can intimidate someone with your posture you can make yourself bigger than than you actually are and that's what joshua did then he starts throwing the jab and he starts throwing the jab and he starts throwing the jab dude by the fifth round he knocked him down twice i thought the fight was going to be over because he was going to knock him down again body shots putting him down put paul down twice hats off to jake he kept trying to fight he kept getting up when he could have quit on himself at one point he started limping it looked like that was the moment he was going to throw in the towel and say you know what i'm done i'm injured i'm hurt i don't want to do that but hats off to him he got up and he kept fighting we get to the sixth round and you can just tell that it's over there were a lot of people that said jake paul can't go forward with you joshua was very smart in saying you got to respect any fighter there were a few times where jake actually landed those big overhand rights that he put tyron woodley down with but joshua just ate that and i think when anthony saw he could take those punches and they could really do no damage to him it even boosted his confidence more because then he got even more reckless in his approach to getting after paul i got a video rodrigo videoed us watching the fight so you got my history my reaction immediately after the fight you'll see that at the end of the video but in the sixth round you could just tell that this fight was over you knew that anthony joshua was going to eventually land something that hurt jake paul and you know how you know the boxing world wanted it to be brutal because rosendo was sitting here and he goes i hope he gets knocked out bad he didn't want it to get tko they wanted paul to get absolutely destroyed and honestly that right hand oh my god he took all of that right hand you could see in his face he was like okay now i understand boxing now i understand like at its worst what boxing can be because he got hit clean by one of the biggest punchers you know acclaimed a lot of accolades world champion heavyweight and he went down and didn't get up and honestly i was hoping he didn't get up because it was only going to get worse i thought francis should have stayed down when joshua heard him bad but a lot of times fighters just don't really want to give up on themselves and that's why they get hurt worse but it was exactly what it needed to be tonight for this fight and for this fight it was fun it was crazy at times with the wrestling and all the the grabbing and the clinching the referee saying the fans didn't pay for this all the dirty tactics and it ended in the way that it should sometimes a story ends in the way that the story should end it always should have ended with anthony joshua knocking out jake paul and that's exactly what we got but i think it's time that people give paul some credit for what he did what he did what he has done for boxing and his ability and willingness to stand in there with guys now i wonder right what's next does he go back to fighting people that don't belong in there with him or does he kind of continue this upwards path into fighting these super high level boxers because for a guy that doesn't have the greatest record now he might be seven and two a guy that doesn't have the longest career he's the only one outside of conor mcgregor that could fight this level of fight at his experience and draw in the type of crowd that they drew in tonight this has to be one of the biggest one of the biggest fights aj's had in a while in terms of visibility in terms of people tuning in like looking watching excitement expectation and it was the least challenging and least threatening fight that he's had in a really long time but it ended as it was supposed to anthony joshua knocks out jake paul in the sixth round with a nasty right hand that put him down for the third time in the fight and ultimately ended the fight joshua represents boxing in a way that he should have jake paul now is still a boxer but he got some rebuilding to do but i tell you man i leave this with a little more like positive outlook on paul because of what he did in there today and him actually going in there and fighting the world champion not many people would do that guys hey like subscribe tell your friends to tell their friends that this has got a youtube channel and i'm tapping in i'm doing stuff like that but hey some stories just in the way they're supposed to in the story tonight it ended like it was supposed to anthony joshua was always supposed to knock out jake paul boys am i wrong rodriguez am i wrong was that the ending you expected no it was what's supposed to happen right yeah oh these five yeah yeah sure imagine come over here imagine this is my boy rodrigo obviously you guys know from the ultimate fighter what would have happened if he didn't knock him out would it look bad for boxing it would have looked bad for boxing yeah joshua yeah yeah for sure it would look bad thank goodness thank goodness he knocked him out all right guys until next time peace.

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