YouTube-turned-boxer Jake Paul has been removed from the World Boxing Association (WBA) cruiserweight rankings following his decisive knockout defeat to former world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua in December. The updated rankings, released after the fight, no longer list Paul among the top 15 cruiserweights, ending his brief run on the WBA’s leaderboard.
Paul entered the WBA cruiserweight rankings in 2025 after a unanimous decision win over Julio César Chávez Jr., initially placing him at No. 14 before slipping to No. 15 ahead of the Joshua bout. Despite the December fight being contested at heavyweight, the loss was significant enough for the sanctioning body to remove him entirely from its cruiserweight list.
The matchup against Joshua, held on December 19, 2025, in Miami, saw Paul knocked out in the sixth round, suffering a broken jaw in two places that required surgery. The defeat marked just the second loss of Paul’s professional boxing career and the first time he had been stopped inside the distance.
With Paul out of the rankings, Bosnia’s Edin Puhalo has moved into the lower end of the top 15, and other fighters have shifted as the WBA resets its cruiserweight order. Paul’s absence from the list also highlights the controversy surrounding his initial ranking, which drew criticism from some boxing purists who questioned whether his résumé merited a spot among established cruiserweight contenders.
The development comes at a pivotal time in Paul’s boxing journey. In addition to losing his ranking, he is facing an indefinite medical suspension from the Florida Athletic Commission after suffering a double jaw fracture in the Joshua fight. Paul will need medical clearance before he can return to competition, and the setback has fueled debate about the pace and direction of his career.
Paul, who held a cruiserweight ranking after climbing into the WBA’s top 15 following his victory over Chávez Jr., now finds his standing in the sport recalibrated. The decision to drop him from the cruiserweight list underscores how quickly fortunes can shift in boxing, especially for a fighter whose career has already blended spectacle and sport.
While Paul has expressed a desire to continue fighting and pursue future opportunities, his path back into title-contending territory, in cruiserweight or any weight class, will depend on his recovery and how he chooses to rebuild his competitive standing.
The removal from the WBA rankings is a notable moment in what has been a polarizing, high-profile boxing career, one that has generated both massive paydays and intense scrutiny from the broader boxing world.