Paul has since undergone two jaw surgeries and is unsure if the injury will ever allow him to fight again.

“There was a strict message that was given and a task that was laid upon me, and that was to get rid of Jake Paul and remove him from our beloved sport, which is boxing,” Joshua told The Ring’s CEO, Rick Reeno, on the "Mr. Verzace Podcast."

“Whether that took me one round, whether that took me six rounds, I believe the job was well and truly done.”

Joshua (29-4, 26 KOs), the former two-time unified heavyweight champion, dropped Paul twice in the fifth and once in the sixth to mercifully end a mismatch that was globally streamed on Netflix.

“No matter if they move around and they run around, I'm that good,” Joshua said. “I should be able to knock him out in a round, right? It doesn't matter that he's running around.

“Someone will say, 'Well, just cut the ring off, just do this.' And that's what we should be doing. However, I knew that if I throw a barrage of punches and the referee waved the fight off after 30 seconds, or two to three rounds, I don't think it would have been satisfying.”

Joshua was looking for a bounce-back bout after getting knocked out himself by Daniel Dubois in September 2024. He received the Paul project on short notice after Gervonta Davis was pulled from the encounter due to domestic violence allegations.

Davis’ loss ended up being Joshua’s gain.

“[It was a] significant [event]. [My profile] went boom,” Joshua said. “I think a lot more eyes were able to see me. I had to shake off some cobwebs. So a lot of people just saw the light coming back on me.

“So taking that year out, I'd come back to Miami on the biggest stage and people could see that light, that vibrant energy, regardless of Jake Paul. A lot of people said, 'That's the guy we knew’ and it felt good to be back on the big stage.

"Credit to Jake Paul and his team. Great opportunity. I'm grateful. I understand the business. I understand the game. He gave me a chance to work, and I definitely delivered.”

Joshua aims to deliver yet again when he takes on Kristian Prenga (20-1, 20 KOs) on July 25 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on DAZN.

A victory should set up a slugfest against fellow Brit Tyson Fury in mid-November.