ATLANTA—The heavily anticipated fight between the former U.S. president and the YouTube personality ended in a TKO Thursday night as Jimmy Carter won his debut boxing match against Jake Paul. The cruiserweight match, first announced in early April, pitted the 6-foot-1, 191-pound Paul against the 5-foot-10, 190-pound Carter in the the final fight on the evening’s card. The first two rounds featured even sparring, with the 26-year-old social media star and the 98-year-old known for his humanitarian work trading jabs and fighting conservatively as Carter made up for his shorter reach with quicker hand speed and better mobility. As the third round went on and Paul visibly tired, Carter gained the upper hand, viciously landing a flurry of blows on the influencer before the bell. The former Georgia governor’s reported nine months of 10-hour daily training sessions paid off when he landed a devastating right hook 12 seconds into the fourth round and knocked Paul to the ground, winning the match and along with it a $600,000 purse. Bloodied and grinning to show off a lost tooth as the referee raised his arm in victory, Carter repeatedly bellowed “Rosalynn” as the former first lady fought through the swarming crowd, climbed into the ring, and embrace her victorious husband.
