MIAMI: Anthony Joshua made a dominant return to the ring with a sixth-round knockout victory over YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul in their much-hyped clash, streamed live on Netflix.
The former heavyweight champion went into the bout as a heavy favourite, with many observers insisting that anything short of a knockout would rank among the biggest upsets in boxing history.
Despite Paul arriving with an impressive-looking record of 12 wins from 13 fights, including seven knockouts, critics had long pointed out that most of his victories came against ageing opponents or MMA fighters, with his only outing against an established professional boxer ending in defeat.
As expected, Joshua’s experience and class proved decisive at the Kaseya Center in Miami. His promoter, Eddie Hearn, had dismissed Paul as deluded in the build-up, explaining that the fight was aimed at boosting Joshua’s profile in the United States while securing one of the biggest paydays of his career.
Although the plan was to end the fight early, Paul showed movement and resilience that briefly frustrated Joshua. Still, the Watford-born boxer remained patient, gradually breaking his opponent down before finally finding the opening to end the contest in the sixth round.
Joshua had insisted before the fight that there was zero chance it would go the distance, and while the stoppage came later than expected, it removed any doubt about the outcome. Paul, who had boldly spoken about pulling off a shock win and even challenging for a world title, was ultimately outclassed.
Any concerns about Joshua’s sharpness, following more than a year out of the ring after losing his title to Daniel Dubois, were eased by a composed and powerful performance that signaled his readiness to return to elite-level competition.
