Anthony Joshua wasted little time early Saturday morning in Miami turning the page from spectacle to ambition, calling out Tyson Fury moments after stopping Jake Paul in a bout that ended with the YouTuber-turned-boxer driving himself to hospital with a suspected broken jaw.
Joshua halted Paul in the sixth round of Friday night’s heavyweight contest at the Kaseya Center, dropping him four times in a one-sided fight that had been built as a Netflix-backed global event. Afterwards, the former two-time unified champion was blunt in his assessment of both his performance and what should come next.
“It wasn’t the best performance,” Joshua said. “The end goal was to get Jake Paul, pin him down and hurt him. That has been the request leading up, and that’s what was on my mind. It took a bit longer than expected, but the right hand finally found the destination.”
Anthony Joshua and Jake Paul. Photograph: Dax Tamargo/Shutterstock
Joshua acknowledged Paul’s resilience after a fight in which the American was repeatedly floored but kept rising.
“Jake Paul, he’s done really well tonight,” Joshua said. “I want to give him his props. He got up time and time again. It was difficult in there for him, but he kept on trying to find a way. It takes a real man to do that. Anyone who laces up these gloves, we always say we give them our respect. We have to give Jake his respect for trying and trying and trying. Well done.”
But Joshua was unequivocal about the hierarchy the fight reinforced.
“He came up against a real fighter tonight that’s had a 15-month layoff,” he said. “We shook off the cobwebs, and I can’t wait to roll into 2026.”
Anthony Joshua and Jake Paul. Photograph: Dax Tamargo/Shutterstock
That forward-looking focus quickly sharpened into a challenge aimed directly at Fury, with whom Joshua has long been linked in talks over a blockbuster heavyweight clash.
“If Tyson Fury is as serious as he thinks 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 that will take on any challenge, step into the ring with me next if you’re a real bad boy,” Joshua said. “Don’t do all that talking, ‘AJ this, AJ that’. Let’s see you in the ring and talk with your fists.”
Paul, meanwhile, struck a notably upbeat tone despite the punishment he absorbed and his admission that he had suffered a serious injury.
Anthony Joshua dropped Jake Paul four times in Friday’s fight. Photograph: JC Ruiz/PA
“I’m feeling good. That was fun,” Paul said. “I love this sport. I gave it my all. It’s fucking crazy. I had a blast. Anthony’s a great fighter. I got my ass beat, but that’s what this sport’s about.”
Paul revealed during his post-fight comments that he believed his jaw had been broken, after spitting blood during an interview.
“I think my jaw is broken, by the way,” he said. “It’s definitely broke. A nice little ass-whipping from one of the best to ever do it. I love this shit and I’m going to come back and keep on winning.”
Anthony Joshua. Photograph: Dax Tamargo/Shutterstock
Nakisa Bidarian, Paul’s co-founder at Most Valuable Promotions, confirmed at the post-fight press conference the injury was being assessed but played down long-term concerns.
“We think he broke his jaw. He’s fine,” Bidarian said. “We met with Netflix afterwards. He took a shower, he drove himself to the hospital. A broken jaw is very common in sports, particularly in boxing and MMA, and I think the recovery time from the doctors and surgeons we already talked to is four to six weeks.”
Despite the defeat, Paul framed the night as another step in a longer journey.
“Man, I’ve already won in every single way in life,” he said. “My family, my beautiful fiancée [Dutch speedskating star Jutta Leerdam]. This sport has helped me so much in my life. I’m going to come back and get a world championship belt at some point.”
For Joshua, however, the message was simpler. The experiment was over, the hierarchy restored and attention now turned firmly toward unfinished business at the top of boxing’s glamour division.
