Jake Paul made Anthony Joshua chase him, but he could not run forever. It took six rounds, but two-time champion Joshua finally landed the knockout blow in their contest in Miami, handing the YouTuber a second defeat in his foray into boxing.
Paul, bleeding from the mouth, told Netflix after the fight that he thought his jaw was broken by the final shot delivered to him by a man who came into the fight with a 13 centimetre height advantage and a 12 kilogram weight advantage. But he then said he wanted to use the defeat to show he is ready to challenge for cruiserweight world titles.
Paul's game plan was to run around the ring and make the bigger man chase him — and it worked for a while, with few punches landing from either fighter. But as Paul tired, his legs deserted him and he resorted to leaping on the floor and tackling Joshua's legs in an ugly and undignified sham of what boxing is supposed to be. 'The fans did not pay to see this crap,' referee Chris Young said after one of the more egregious grabs from Paul at the end of the fourth.
In the fifth, Paul started to throw some punches, even landing a couple on the head of Joshua. The problem was, Joshua started to land some shots of his own. The first percussive blow rocked Paul and sent him careering back into the ropes, precipitating two knock-downs in the fifth round. In the sixth, Joshua really found his range and a stunning right in the corner knocked Paul down for the fifth and final time to seal the win.
Joshua was full of credit for Paul, saying he took his shots well. But he already turned his attention to a fight that will be more fulfilling to boxing fans. 'If Tyson Fury is as serious as he says he is, and he wants to put down his Twitter fingers and put on some gloves, and come and fight one of the realest fighters out there, step into there with me next if you're a really bad boy,' Joshua said.
On the undercard, Australian fighter Cherneka Johnson retained her IBF, WBC, WBO and WBA bantamweight titles by unanimous decision over Amanda Galle, despite suffering a cut.
