Anthony Joshua shut down Jake Paul Friday night with a knockout in the sixth round. He showed he’s still a force in boxing, fighting in front of a packed house at the Kaseya Center.
The champ showed his power, dropping Paul twice in the fifth round. The fight started slow but got wild as things heated up. Joshua sensed Paul was about done and came out firing in the sixth, landing a nasty uppercut. Shortly after, he put Paul down with a combo to the head. Paul (12-2) got up, but Joshua (29-4, 26 KOs) finished it when he dropped Paul again with a right hand. The ref stopped the fight at 1:31 of the round, and Joshua took home the win in front of 19,600 fans.
Because of that win, Joshua’s closer to getting back the heavyweight title he lost to Oleksandr Usyk. He’s also been talking about fighting Tyson Fury, but Fury is supposedly retired after losing to Usyk twice in 2024.
This fight was Joshua’s first since Daniel Dubois stopped him in five rounds in Sept. 2024. Joshua wanted to get his groove back. From the start, he kept things under control, with both fighters being careful. About halfway into the first round, Paul threw a right that Joshua blocked. Right before the bell, Joshua landed a right hand.
In the second round, Joshua used his reach to keep Paul away with his jab. Paul got through in the fourth, landing a right hand. Later in the round, he slipped a couple times trying to get close.
Joshua weighed 243 pounds, and Paul was 216. Paul, 28, started boxing in Jan. 2020 and was set to box Gervonta Davis last month. That fell apart when Davis had legal problems, so Paul fought Joshua instead.
Lots of celebs were there, including Rory McIlroy, Juan Soto, Dave Portnoy, Michael Irvin, and Brandon Marshall.
Before that fight, Anderson Silva and Tyron Woodley fought, with 50-year-old Silva winning by TKO in the second round.
Joshua’s big win made one thing clear: at 36, he still wants another heavyweight title, and the division might have to make room for him again.
