What Anthony Joshua's Knockout of Jake Paul Means for Boxing

The dust settled Friday night in Miami as Anthony Joshua finally found a home for his right hand to become the first fighter to knockout Jake Paul in the eight-round heavyweight main event on Netflix, doing so in Round 6.

Depending on one’s opinion of the fight, Paul vs. Joshua was one to forget, one to remember, or a fight where the better pure boxer actually won.

Maybe it was a mix of all three, as the Kaseya Center crowd looked onward in awe as Joshua (29-4, 26 KOs) towered over the much smaller Paul (12-2, 7 KOs) after securing his first win since March 2024 against former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou (18-3 MMA, 0-2 boxing).

Although Joshua admitted he didn’t fight to his full potential, one that once made him a nearly unstoppable former two-time unified heavyweight champion, he did say post-fight it felt good to return to the ring.

“It wasn't the best,” Joshua said in the ring afterward. “The end goal was to get Jake Paul, pin him down and hurt him. That has been the request leading up, and that is what was on my mind. It took a bit longer than expected, but the right hand finally found the destination. Jake Paul has done really well tonight. I want to give him his props. He got up time and time again.”

And Paul certainly did do that, despite a lack of overall output. While Joshua has zeroed in on a potential mega-fight against Tyson Fury next year, should Fury unretire, Paul will have to recover from a broken jaw before returning to a rapid competitive boxing schedule.

“I'm feeling good," Paul said. "That was fun. I love this sport. I gave it my all. It's (expletive) crazy. Anthony's a great fighter. I got my ass beat. That's what this sport is about. I'm going to come back and keep on winning. I love this (expletive). I'm going to get a world championship belt at some point."

In an unexpected tone-downed version of Paul, who had not tasted defeat since a February 2023 split decision loss to Tommy Fury (11-0) opted to not call his shot for his next fight as he normally would.

Instead, Paul appears to be using the loss to Joshua as a humbling reality check.

"We're going to heal the broken jaw, come back and fight people my weight, come back and fight for the cruiserweight title,” Paul said.

Although nothing has been finalized just yet, it seems a Joshua-Fury fight being targeted during the first or second quarter of next year makes sense as promoter Eddie Hearn appeared to have a keen interest in the fight while Joshua headed to his locker room.

So did Joshua, who called out Fury (34-2-1) after the fight.

All in all, though, Joshua respects Paul’s ambition to challenge him regardless of the outcome.

“Unless you have that instinct, you will never be a good fighter,” Joshua told reporters. “Jake has spirit, he has some heart. He tried his best, and I tip my hat off to him. A lot of fighters haven’t got in the ring with me, and Jake did.”

Paul vs. Joshua marked the end of boxing’s calendar year this year, which springboards into next month, where even more parity, regardless of storylines, is palpable.