Joshua takes six rounds to overcome YouTuber Paul

Anthony Joshua laboured to a sixth-round victory over YouTuber turned boxer Jake Paul in Miami which did little to suggest the former heavyweight world champion will return to the upper echelons of the sport.

Joshua, who is reportedly close to agreeing a long-awaited fight against Tyson Fury in Riyadh in 2026, was made to work far harder than he would have liked to extinguish the challenge of a brave, but extremely limited, opponent in front of a crowd that included 2025 RTÉ Sportsperson of the Year nominee Rory McIlroy.

Joshua was frustrated in the opening rounds as he struggled to land a meaningful punch, with Paul happy to evade his opponent by moving around the ropes.

The 36-year-old, who last fought 15 months ago when he was knocked out by Daniel Dubois, was unable to produce the quick finish many had predicted, although the threat posed by the evasive Paul remained minimal as the American focused on avoiding his opponent rather than landing a blow of his own.

A missed overhand right from Joshua saw Paul poke his tongue out during the second round and the underdog did manage to land a jab midway through the third round, but a tedious contest continued to meander as the crowd became increasingly agitated.

The mood in the Kaseya Center was not helped as Paul repeatedly fell to the floor in a bizarre fourth round, which referee Christopher Young interrupted to tell the pair "the fans didn't pay to see this crap".

Joshua finally made his class tell in the fifth as Paul’s hopes rapidly unravelled. A big left brought about the first count of the contest and a right-left combination 30 seconds later produced another.

To Paul’s credit, he showed commendable heart to stagger through to the bell against an opponent almost two stone heavier.

A further barrage from Joshua eventually saw Paul crumble in the corner during round six and the contest, which had been highly criticised given Paul’s career previously consisted mainly of former UFC stars or faded boxing greats, was called to a halt.

Afterwards, Joshua called out Fury.

"I can't wait to roll into 2026. 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 in the ring with me next if you’re a real bad boy.

"Don’t do all that talking, 'AJ this, AJ that’, let’s see you in the ring and talk with your fists."