Anthony Joshua recovers from slow start to knock out Jake Paul in Miami

While Joshua would ultimately finish the fight decisively and leave his opponent with a broken jaw, Paul proved a surprisingly tricky opponent in the early rounds of the contest.

The first round saw Joshua struggle to pin down his elusive opponent, though he gradually began asserting his presence with measured combinations.

Joshua displayed more aggression in the second round, landing a heavy shot that drew a smile from Paul, followed by a swift flurry as the YouTuber sought refuge on the ropes. 

Despite his experience, Joshua found it difficult to land his power punches cleanly in the opening rounds and even took a cheeky uppercut from Paul in the third. 

Round four brought a brief moment of embarrassment when a looping hook from Paul caught Joshua, though it was Paul who ended the round wincing after a low blow.

By the fifth round, Joshua's pressure started to overwhelm Paul. A flurry of punches sent the YouTuber to the canvas for a referee count, and in the sixth, Joshua delivered a decisive right hand that dropped Paul heavily. 

When he struggled to rise, Joshua followed with a fight-ending right hand, leaving his opponent with a broken jaw and prompting the referee to stop the fight.

Speaking in the ring afterwards, Joshua told Netflix: "It wasn't the best performance.

"The end goal was to get Jake Paul, pin him down, and hurt him. That has been the request and that was on my mind. Took a bit longer than expected but the right hand found the destination.

"Jake Paul has done really well tonight, 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 through.

"You have to give Jake his respect for trying, trying and trying. But he came up against a real fighter tonight that's had a 15-month lay-off."

Despite the loss and his injury, Paul remained upbeat and reflective about the fight.

"I'm feeling good, that was fun, I love this sport," he said. "Anthony is a great fighter and I got beat but that's what this sport is about.

"I have already won in every way of life. This sport has helped me so much.

"I think my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke but ‌man, that was good.

"I'm going to come back and get a world championship belt at some point.

"I just got tired, to be honest. He did amazing and hits really hard."

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