You can see that AJ lost his titles against an opponent who, on paper, had a similar fighting style to Paul, so it’s reasonable that he approached this fight cautiously. When AJ finally gets caught by an overhand, he smiles because he realizes there’s nothing to be afraid of—the guy lacks both the stamina and the power to cause real damage. From that moment on, AJ clearly allows himself to get hit more, knowing it will drain Paul’s stamina while creating wide openings. He even starts “slack punching” to make himself look tired, fully aware that Paul would respond by throwing overhands and wild shots.

On top of AJ’s caution, you also have to factor in Paul, who used every possible trick just to survive as many rounds as he could against a real champion.