“Took longer than expected”
Anthony Joshua knocks out Jake Paul – jaw broken
Updated 12/20/2025 – 7:45 a.mReading time: 2 minutes
Anthony Joshua once became heavyweight world champion. Now the Brit competed against an influencer in his comeback. The duel lasted longer than expected.
As expected, former heavyweight world champion Anthony Joshua clearly won the unequal duel against influencer Jake Paul. The 36-year-old Brit defeated the American, who was about ten years his junior, in the eight-round duel in Miami with a technical knockout in the sixth round.
“It wasn’t the best performance, it took a little longer than expected,” said Joshua after the fight, paying respect to his opponent. Paul was proud and stated in the interview that his jaw was broken. He also wants to box for a world champion belt in the future.
The lucrative fight on Saturday morning German time, which was stylized into a spectacle, lasted longer than many experts expected in advance. In his 14th official fight, Paul was keen from the start to evade the much more experienced, bigger and heavier Joshua.
The 36-year-old Brit, who went into the unequal duel as the favorite, initially had difficulty meeting the nimble Paul. The American, who was around ten years his junior, used his agility to elude Joshua. Only when Paul began to tire in the fifth round was Joshua able to land increasingly harder hits and send the American into the ring ropes and to the ground several times.
Paul clung to Joshua’s legs repeatedly. At one point even referee Christopher Young seemed to lose patience, warning the fighters in the fourth round: “The fans didn’t pay to see this crap.” In the middle of the sixth round, Joshua pushed Paul into a corner and, after a hard left, delivered the knockout blow with a right to the chin, which sent his opponent to the ground.
Joshua spectacularly defeated boxing idol Wladimir Klitschko in 2017. Four years ago he had to give up his world championship belt to the currently best heavyweight Oleksandr Usyk. He also lost in a rematch. Joshua last got into the ring in 2024 and failed there against compatriot Daniel Dubois. For Joshua, who is said to have received at least $30 million for the fight, it was the 29th victory in his 33rd professional fight (four defeats). The 36-year-old is currently fighting for his return to the top of the world.
Meanwhile, Paul suffered his second defeat in his 14th fight as a professional. The 28-year-old caused a stir in November 2024 with his victory against the aging boxing icon Mike Tyson.