Anthony Joshua delivered a decisive victory over Jake Paul last Friday night in Miami, with newly released unofficial scores painting a picture of total dominance by the British heavyweight.
Fan Scores Reveal One-Sided Contest
According to fans voting on the BoxRec website, Joshua was awarded every single round of the controversial fight at the Kaseya Center. The unofficial tallies show Joshua took the first four rounds by a standard 10-9 margin before the action intensified in the fifth.
In that pivotal fifth round, Joshua knocked Paul down twice, leading the fans to score it 10-7 in his favour. This meant that at the time of the stoppage in the sixth round, Joshua was leading by a commanding unofficial score of 50-43. The three official judges' scorecards have yet to be made public.
A Frustrating Start Leads to a Brutal Finish
The fight, held on Friday, 20 December 2025, did not begin with the explosive start many predicted. Joshua, 36, appeared frustrated in the early rounds as the elusive Paul focused on movement and evasion, rarely attempting to land significant offence himself.
The mood inside the arena turned during a bizarre fourth round where Paul repeatedly fell to the canvas, prompting referee Christopher Young to admonish both fighters, stating, "the fans didn’t pay to see this crap."
Joshua's class and power ultimately told in the fifth. A big left hand sent Paul to the canvas for the first time, and a right-left combination put him down again just 30 seconds later. Paul showed resilience to survive the round, but his fate was sealed soon after.
The Jaw-Breaking Conclusion and Aftermath
In the sixth round, a final barrage from Joshua cornered Paul, ending with a devastating right hand that broke the YouTuber-turned-boxer's jaw in two places and forced the referee to stop the contest.
Despite the emphatic win, Joshua later admitted his performance was "not good enough." The victory edges him closer to a long-awaited showdown with Tyson Fury, tentatively scheduled for Riyadh in 2026.
On the undercard, former undisputed super featherweight champion Alycia Baumgardner won a points decision against Canada's Leila Beaudoin. In a notable comeback, 50-year-old UFC legend Anderson Silva stopped Tyron Woodley in the second round and announced plans to begin a second career as a police officer.
