Former world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua knocked out YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul in their much-debated Netflix-backed fight held in Miami.
The two-time world champion was made to work harder than many expected against his far less experienced opponent on Friday night, but ultimately his superior size, strength and power proved decisive in the closing rounds of the scheduled eight-round contest.
The bout at the Kaseya Center, reportedly earning the fighters a combined purse of about $184 million, was largely underwhelming and at times descended into chaos. Paul repeatedly hit the canvas and frequently resorted to grappling at Joshua’s legs, prompting visible frustration from referee Christopher Young, who warned both fighters in the fourth round: “The fans did not pay to see this.”
As Paul began to tire, Joshua increased the pressure and started landing more consistently. After knocking the American down twice in the fifth round, Joshua brought the fight to a swift conclusion in the sixth. He forced Paul into a corner, set him up with a powerful left hand and then delivered a decisive right to the chin that sent Paul crashing to the canvas for the knockout.
Speaking afterwards, the 36-year-old Joshua admitted the performance was not his sharpest.
“It wasn’t the best performance, but the goal was to get Jake Paul, pin him down and hurt him,” he said. “That was the plan going in. It took longer than expected, but the right hand eventually landed.”
Joshua also praised Paul’s resilience for lasting into the later rounds.
“He kept getting up and trying to find a way,” Joshua said. “It takes real toughness to do that.”
Paul, whose mouth was bloodied by the final blow, said he believed his jaw may have been broken but expressed satisfaction with his effort.
“That was fun. I gave it everything,” he said. “Anthony is one of the best to ever do it. I’ll come back and get a world championship. I just got tired handling his weight. With better cardio, I could have lasted longer in the fight. He hits very hard.”
The fight was streamed live to Netflix’s estimated 300 million subscribers. It followed Paul’s controversial bout last year against a 58-year-old Mike Tyson, which had already raised concerns about safety and sporting credibility.
Despite fears of an early knockout due to the mismatch in size and experience, Paul managed to survive the early rounds by staying outside Joshua’s range. However, Joshua was the more dangerous fighter throughout, landing 48 of 146 punches, compared to Paul’s 16 landed punches, in his first fight in 15 months.
