Anthony Joshua Knocks Out Jake Paul to Win Netflix Boxing Bout

A world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua knocked out Jake Paul in their controversial Netflix-backed bout in Miami on Friday, 19^th December 2025.

In the event, however, Joshua made hard work of defeating his vastly less accomplished opponent, before his superior size and power eventually told in the later stages of the eight-round fight, with a sixth-round knockout.

At one stage even referee Christopher Young appeared to be losing patience, warning the fighters in the fourth round: “The fans did not pay to see this crap.”

A lackluster contest descended into farce at times, with Paul repeatedly dropping to the canvas and grappling at Joshua’s legs.

As the YouTuber-turned-boxer, Jake Paul tired, the 6ft 6in (1.85m) tall Joshua began to land punches with more regularity, and after knocking down the 6ft 1in American twice in the fifth round, the end came swiftly in the sixth.

Joshua backed the 28-year-old into a corner and, after teeing up Paul with a crunching left, delivered the knockout blow with a right to the chin that sent his opponent crashing to the canvas.

“It wasn’t the best performance,” Joshua, 36, admitted afterwards. “But the end goal was to get Jake Paul, pin him down and hurt him.

“That was the request leading up, and that was on my mind. It took a bit longer than expected but the right hand finally found its destination.”

The fight at the Kaseya Center, which saw both men reportedly splitting a mammoth purse of $184 million, had triggered alarm across boxing due to the gulf in physical size and class between Britain’s two-time former world champion Joshua and Paul, an internet personality who has forged a lucrative career through a handful of novelty boxing contests. Meanwhile, Joshua praised Paul for lasting into the later rounds.

Friday’s made-for-streaming contest, which came just over a year after Paul had fought a 58-year-old Mike Tyson in a much-derided Netflix fight, had been widely panned throughout boxing, with many warning that Paul risked serious injury.

Yet the devastating first or second round knockout by Joshua that most had predicted failed to materialize as Paul scrambled desperately to stay outside of the 2012 Olympic champion Joshua’s range.

Joshua, fighting for the first time in 15 months, always looked the more threatening fighter, landing 48 of 146 punches thrown compared to Paul’s meagre total of 16 punches landed.

The Briton is now turning his attention towards a money-spinning bout against compatriot and fellow former world champion Tyson Fury next year.

Jake Paul was rushed to hospital after suffering a suspected fractured jaw following his six-round loss to former world heavyweight champion, Anthony Joshua in Miami.

The 28-year-old YouTuber-turned-professional boxer displayed resilience and determination throughout the bout but was ultimately overpowered by Joshua’s superior size and punching strength. Despite the setback, Paul struck an optimistic tone in his post-fight remarks.