Anthony Joshua did what he was supposed to do on Friday night in Miami: he squandered Jake Paul’s bravest and most controversial experiment in boxing with a devastating victory that felt less like the result of athleticism than the restoration of sanity.
In the scheduled eight-round heavyweight bout at the Kaseya Center, which was broadcast globally to nearly 300 million Netflix subscribers, the former two-time unified heavyweight champion scored four knockouts before stopping the YouTuber-turned-boxer in the sixth round of a mismatch that sparked weeks of safety concerns and ethical concerns. Joshua’s victory, on a night designed as much for memes as it was, was a reminder that boxing remains committed to its basic laws and that power and lineage are finally reasserting themselves.
From the opening bell, the shape of the fight was clear. Joshua took the undisputed center of the ring while Paul circled around him, moving sideways from left to right and back again. The first round was very low-key, punctuated by boos from the crowd. Paul took a short double hit to the body before returning to safety. Joshua delivered an overhand right that looked like he was glancing at a retreating target. It was tentative, but Joshua’s control of space won him the round.
The second followed a similar pattern. Joshua swung and missed early while Paul continued to run, using lateral movement to frustrate the bigger man. Joshua began to cross the ring more effectively, but Paul clinched it as the distance closed, eliciting louder boos from the near-capacity crowd. A brief clash of heads halted the momentum, and although Joshua hinted at physical work, he continued to headhunt. It was a round defined by inertia: Yeshua did little, Paul did less.
By the third, Joshua’s patience was beginning to pay off. Paul briefly went into the pocket and attempted an uppercut, only to pick up the skin. Joshua responded by landing more powerful shots, which narrowly missed but drew audible gasps from the crowd. Late in the round, a right hand to the ribs appeared to clip Paul, the first obvious sign of damage. Once again, Joshua didn’t land cleanly, but he was the only fighter who tried to win rather than just survive.
The fight deteriorated into farce in the fourth period. Paul went into complete retreat while Joshua struggled to surround him, taking advantage of every opportunity. The crowd became increasingly hostile. Things continued to go south when Paul went down claiming a low blow, resulting in a long suspension from referee Chris Young giving him valuable recovery time. Didn’t do much to help. Paul descended again, then again, clearly exhausted and buying time. Despite the repeated delay, the referee did not issue any points deduction, which sparked continuous booing from the stands.
By day five, the competition had gone from mismatch to embarrassment. Paul fumbled again before a clean right hand finally dropped him. He beat the count but looked on the verge of collapse. A second knockdown followed moments later, again from a right, and Joshua closed out the round, trapping Paul in the corner and landing unanswered shots. Somehow, Paul survived the bell, even though the proceedings no longer resembled a competitive sporting event.
The end came early in the sixth. Paul went down almost immediately, pulled himself upright, and then fell again under sustained pressure. This time he couldn’t beat the count. Young waved it off at the 1:31 mark, finally ending a game that had long outgrown its threadbare justifications.
The bout arrived with the kind of surreal symmetry that boxing couldn’t resist. Miami is where Cassius Clay made Sonny Liston resign his chair in 1964, a historic upset that exploded the assumptions of the sport. It was different: a modern scene that borrowed the vibe of the old, but had none of the competitive integrity. Paul, 28, is out 5-1 thanks to a deluge of late money against the 36-year-old Olympic gold medalist with an 89% knockout rate. The frenzy surrounding the fight extended to Air Force One, where US President Donald Trump said he followed it.
“On the plane, I just got to watch the Jake Paul fight, and he did really well, especially as a show of great courage against the very talented and great Anthony Joshua,” Trump said. Books on social truth. “Great entertainment, but kudos to Jake for his stamina and, frankly, his ability, against a much bigger man!”
Joshua, who is coming off a fifth-round knockout loss to Daniel Dubois in September 2024, treated the bout as an appeal and a referendum. There has been increasing talk of a long-awaited Tyson Fury fight next year, and there has also been talk of Joshua as boxing’s reluctant gatekeeper: the “real” fighter tasked with putting an end to the interloper’s show. He leaned into it during preparation, describing the dark reality of the sport and hinting at the violence it can contain. On fight night, he fought with the gravitas he promised.
“It wasn’t the best performance,” Joshua said. “The ultimate goal was to catch Jake Paul, pin him and hurt him. That’s what I had in mind. It took a little longer than expected, but the right hand finally found the destination.”
Joshua was careful not to knock his opponent out, praising Paul’s durability after a fight that saw him fall repeatedly over the final three rounds.
“Jake Paul, he did a really good job tonight,” Joshua said. “He’s stepped up time and time again. It takes a real man to do that. Anyone who puts on those gloves deserves respect. We’ve got to give Jake his respect for trying and trying and trying.”
However, Joshua was clear about the distinction reinforced by the night. “He faced a real fighter tonight,” he added. “We’ve cleared the cobwebs, and I can’t wait until 2026.”
With the mismatch resolved, Joshua quickly turned his attention back to elite action, criticizing Fury in direct terms. “Put your fingers on Twitter and put on some gloves,” he said. “Let’s see you in the ring and talk with your fists.”
For his part, Paul looked bruised but thriving, insisting the experience only strengthened his love for the sport. “That was fun,” he said. “I love this sport. I gave it my all. It’s crazy. I had a lot of fun. Anthony is a great fighter. I got my ass kicked, but that’s what this sport is about.”
When asked why he appeared upbeat despite the punishment, Paul shrugged. “I’ve already won in every way in life,” he said. “I guess Broken jawBy the way. Nice little hit from one of the best people to ever do it. I love this shit and I will be back.
That immediate result highlighted what made the fight itself inevitable. Paul can sell boxing, show boxing, and sustain interest in boxing in ways that few modern figures can. Money talks: Paul and Joshua will each reportedly receive at least $50m (£37.3m) for their efforts. But inside the ring, facing a full-sized heavyweight with championship pedigree, the limits of the unfolding truths were thrown harshly.