Former heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua knocked Jake Paul, an American YouTube turned boxer, out in the sixth round of a heavyweight bout in Miami in the early hours of Saturday.
Paul, 28, traded punches against Joshua, 36, before a large crowd at Kaseya Center in Miami.
The lopsided bout between Joshua, a two-time unified heavyweight champion and Olympic gold medalist, and Jake Paul, a YouTube influencer whose biggest boxing success was defeating 58-year-old Mike Tyson, ended as many boxing lovers expected.
Though Paul started off dancing around the ring, Joshua dominated the fight from the start, landing heavy punches that knocked down Paul more than once.
In the fifth round, Joshua landed an uppercut that saw Paul holding onto his legs before dropping to the canvas.
In the same round, Paul also landed a good punch, catching Joshua unguarded.
Caving in under several punches, Paul was floored by Joshua, who boxed him to a corner before connecting a heavy right-hand punch that knocked him out in the sixth round.
Saturday’s win ended Joshua’s 15-month layoff and his first time since his poor outing in which he was knocked out by Daniel Dubois in an IBF heavyweight title bout in September 2024.
“It wasn’t the best performance,” Joshua admitted, speaking after the fight. “It took a bit longer than expected, but the right hand finally found its destination. Now, Jake Paul has done well tonight, I want to give him his props. He got up time and time again. It was difficult in there for him, but he kept on trying to find a way.”
Speaking after the fight, Paul said “I gave it my all, it’s f***ing crazy, I had a blast, thanks to all the fans. Anthony is a great fighter and I got my a** beat but that’s what this sport is about. I’m going to come back and keep on winning.”
