Former world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua
stopped YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul with a sixth-round knockout in their
much-criticised Netflix-backed fight in Miami on Friday night.
The bout, staged at the Kaseya Center, attracted
intense scrutiny across the boxing world due to the stark difference in
pedigree, size, and experience between Joshua—a two-time former world
champion—and Paul, an internet personality who has carved out a lucrative
boxing career through high-profile novelty contests.
Despite widespread predictions of an early stoppage,
Joshua endured a surprisingly awkward contest before his superior strength and
power eventually proved decisive. Both fighters were reported to have shared a
massive $184 million purse, further fuelling debate over the legitimacy of the
matchup.
The eight-round fight was scrappy at times, with Paul
repeatedly falling to the canvas, clinching excessively, and even grappling
with Joshua’s legs in desperate attempts to survive. The contest descended into
farce on several occasions, prompting referee Christopher Young to issue a
blunt warning in the fourth round: “The fans did not pay to see this crap.”
As Paul began to tire, Joshua—standing at 6ft 6in—found
his rhythm. He floored the American twice in the fifth round before sealing the
outcome in the sixth. Backing Paul into a corner, Joshua connected with a
crushing left hand before finishing with a thunderous right to the chin that
sent the 28-year-old crashing to the canvas.
“It wasn’t the best performance,” Joshua admitted
after the fight. “But the end goal was to get Jake Paul, pin him down, and hurt
him. It took a bit longer than expected, but the right hand finally found its
destination.”
Despite the one-sided nature of the finish, Joshua
praised Paul’s resilience.
“I want to give him his props—he got up time and time again,” he said. “It
takes a real man to do that.”
Paul, whose mouth was bloodied following the knockout,
said he feared his jaw may have been broken but remained upbeat about the
experience.
“That was fun. I gave it my all,” he said. “Anthony’s one of the best to ever
do it. I just got tired handling his weight. He hits really hard.”
The bout marked Joshua’s first fight in 15 months, and
although not his sharpest outing, the former Olympic champion was clearly the
superior fighter. Official statistics showed Joshua landed 48 of 146 punches,
compared to Paul’s 16 landed shots.
Friday’s spectacle followed Paul’s widely derided
Netflix bout with 58-year-old Mike Tyson a year earlier and was heavily
criticised by boxing purists, many of whom warned of the risks involved.
With the victory secured, Joshua now has his sights
firmly set on a blockbuster showdown with fellow British heavyweight Tyson Fury
in 2026.
“We shook off the cobwebs,” Joshua said. “If Tyson
Fury is as serious as he thinks he is, let’s put on some gloves and fight.”
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