Anthony Joshua Knocks Out Jake Paul in Sixth Round in Miami

Anthony Joshua stopped Jake Paul with a knockout in the sixth round of their heavyweight bout Friday night at the Kaseya Center in Miami. The finish came after Joshua pressed the action through the middle rounds and found the momentum in the sixth, delivering the decisive blows that halted the fight.

Paul came out aggressive, bouncing around the ring and trying to land quick shots wherever he could. He appeared to win the first round with a flurry of jabs and movement, but Joshua began to steady his rhythm as the fight progressed. In the fourth round, the referee warned both fighters as the pace intensified and the crowd grew restless, telling the fighters that the spectacle had to improve and that fans did not pay to see a display that deflated into grappling and clinches. By the fifth, Joshua had turned the momentum, knocking Paul down twice. Paul recovered each time and continued to press, but the cumulative damage from the exchanges helped set up the sixth-round finish.

The end came in the sixth round, when Joshua found the right moments and landed several power shots that dropped Paul for good. The sequence underscored Joshua’s patience and timing after a slow start, and it capped a card that had drawn significant attention for the novelty of the matchup. Paul, who entered with just one blemish on his record—a loss to Tommy Fury—had come off wins against Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and Mike Tyson in a bout described by some observers as among the sport’s biggest spectacles in years. Afterward, Paul said he would take some time off and return stronger, a message he conveyed publicly in interviews ahead of the fight.

Paul entered the fight with a single pro blemish on his ledger, a loss to Fury, and had touted his ability to push Joshua into a back-and-forth exchange. He told Netflix’s Ariel Helwani that he believed his jaw was broken in the Tyson bout and suggested that time away would help him regroup. Joshua, coming off a knockout loss to Daniel Dubois last September in a bout for the IBF heavyweight title, had been on a four-fight winning streak prior to that defeat, with wins over Francis Ngannou, Otto Wallin, Robert Helenius and Jermaine Franklin. The result at the Kaseya Center provided Joshua with a much-needed confidence boost and reignited talk of a potential superfight with Tyson Fury.

In the wake of the knockout, Joshua again called out Fury, a showcase matchup that boxing fans have long anticipated. The plan for Fury remains a topic of ongoing negotiations and speculation, with promoters and networks weighing the economics and logistics of a fight that would have global appeal in a post-pandemic sporting landscape. The bout underscored Joshua’s return to form and his enduring status as one of the heavyweight division’s marquee figures, even as fans and analysts debated how his next test should be scheduled and who might provide the next real challenge.

Analysts noted that Joshua’s performance, while not flawless, demonstrated endurance and timing when it mattered most. The victory restored Joshua’s momentum after a tough stretch and reset the narrative around his peak as he eyes a possible clash with Fury. For Paul, the setback was a reminder that the leap from social-media-driven attention to championship-caliber boxing remains a steep climb, particularly against a veteran competitor who can convert a moment into a finish.

As the boxing calendar moves forward, the conversation about the next major matchup centers on whether Joshua will land the Fury showdown in a venue and date that satisfy both fighters’ market demands. Until then, the sport will likely dissect the sixth round, the two knockdowns in the fifth, and the strategic adjustments that allowed Joshua to shift from tentative to decisive, delivering a knockout that kept the heavyweight division squarely in the spotlight. The spectacle around Miami’s arena and the media intrigue surrounding Fury-Joshua will likely extend into the weeks ahead, as fans await confirmation of the next chapter in this growing chapter of the sport.