The two-time heavyweight champion showed why he is one of the sport’s elite punchers when he dropped the fading Paul twice in the fifth round.
Joshua sensed the YouTuber was done and rocked him with a right uppercut early in the sixth. The England native then hit Paul in the head with a combination.
Although Paul (12-2) got back to his feet, Joshua (29-4, 26 KOs) ultimately crushed Paul’s shattered dream when he dropped him for the fourth time with a right to the head. Referee Christopher Young counted Paul out at 1:31 of the round in front of a capacity crowd of 19,600 people at the Kaseya Center.
After the fight, Paul continued speaking social media that he suffered a “double broken jaw” during the loss and shared an X-ray of a jaw broken in two places.
“Double broken jaw,” he wrote on Instagram. “Give me Canelo in ten days.” In a separate one after from what appeared to be a hospital room, he added: “thanks for all the support, I’m doing well.”
Ed Mulholland/Getty Images for Netflix
Before the fight, Joshua told CBS Sports he would consider it “a failure” if the match lasted more than one round.
But his comments after the match were more humored.
“Jake Paul did a really good job tonight,” Joshua said, according to CBS Sports. “I want to give him props. He got up again and again. It was hard for him, but he kept trying to find a way. It takes a real man to do that.”
With the win, Joshua can regain the heavyweight title he lost to Oleksandr Usyk. Joshua has spoken about a long-discussed match with fellow countryman and former champion Tyson Fury. However, Fury is currently retired after back-to-back losses to Usyk in 2024.
It was Joshua’s first fight since Daniel Dubois knocked him out in five rounds in September 2024.
Joshua methodically set the pace against Paul from the opening round as neither fighter made any early action. Midway through the round, Paul threw an overhand right that Joshua blocked with his glove. In the closing seconds, Joshua scored with a right to the head near the ropes.
In the second, Joshua began to use his six-inch reach advantage by taking the lead with a left jab.
Paul scored early in the fourth with a short right to the head. Later in the round, Paul fell awkwardly to the canvas twice as he again tried to distance himself during short conversations
Paul weighed 216 pounds and Joshua weighed 243 pounds for the fight.
In a Truth Social post, President Trump said he watched the fight while flying back to Washington after a rally in North Carolina.
“On the plane I just got to watch the Jake Paul Fight, and he did really well, especially showing AMAZING courage against a very talented and big Anthony Joshua,” Mr. Trump wrote. “Great entertainment, but kudos to Jake for his endurance and honestly his skill against a much bigger man!”
Paul, 28, who started his career in January 2020, had originally targeted an exhibition in Miami with lightweight champion Gervonta Davis last month. But Davis ran into legal problems that caused the event to be scrapped. Paul quickly turned around and landed the fight against Joshua at the same location.
Celebrities in the audience included golf champion Rory McIlroy, New York Mets slugger Juan Soto, Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy and retired NFL receivers Michael Irvin and Brandon Marshall.
In an undercard bout between retired UFC champions, 50-year-old Anderson Silva scored a second-round TKO against Tyron Woodley.
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