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Anthony Joshua calls out Tyson Fury after leaving Jake Paul in hospital in controversial Netflix fight - latest

AJ finally broke down the YouTuber turned boxer after a messy six rounds in Miami

Jake Paul posts video from hospital bed with suspected broken jaw after brutal Anthony Joshua defeat

Anthony Joshua broke down and knocked out Jake Paul after six messy rounds in one of the strangest but biggest boxing matches in recent memory.

The American was sharp early on as he boxed on the back foot to leave ‘AJ’ swinging wildly and missing throughout the opening rounds. But after a breakthrough in the fifth, with a pair of knockdowns, Joshua punished Paul on the ropes and jabbed to the body before launching a big right hand.

AJ reacted with a cut-throat celebration in the ring to end one of the most chaotic episodes in recent boxing history, before calling out his British heavyweight rival Tyson Fury. “It wasn’t the best performance,” Joshua admitted.

Paul, meanwhile, drove himself to the hospital and revealed he suffered a “double broken jaw” - with the former YouTuber detailing that while he has no plans to give up his boxing career, he intends to return to the cruiserweight division.

Follow live reaction and analysis from Jake Paul vs Anthony Joshua and undercard results, below

Jake Paul congratulated by Donald Trump for showing 'courage'

US president Donald Trump congratulated Jake Paul on showing “great courage” against Anthony Joshua, claiming the fight was “fantastic entertainment”.

In a post on his Truth Social, published as Trump left a rally in North Carolina, the president said: “On the plane I just got to watch the Jake Paul fight, and he did really well, especially as a display of GREAT courage against a very talented and large Anthony Joshua. Fantastic entertainment, but kudos to Jake for his stamina, and frankly, ability, against a much bigger man!”

(JC Ruiz/PA Wire)
Jamie Braidwood20 December 2025 12:55

Tony Bellew claims 'everyone won' from Joshua vs Paul

Former world cruiserweight champion Tony Bellew has claim “everyone won” following Anthony Joshua’s knockout victory over Jake Paul and said boxing should celebrate the fact that a broken jaw was the worst of Paul’s injuries.

“The most important thing imo is he didn’t leave him permanently hurt!” Bellew said.

“I believe everyone won last night... Fair play to Jake Paul, he tried everything he could to survive! AJ does what he set out to do which is stop Jake Paul! Boxing is and always will be the ultimate 1v1 sport!”

Jamie Braidwood20 December 2025 12:25

Anthony Joshua says he is 'hungry for more' after beating Jake Paul

Anthony Joshua revealed he questioned himself and his boxing career after the defeat to Daniel Dubois in September 2024 but says he is now “hungry for more” after ending his spell out of the ring.

“I wanted to fight. So the question I was asking myself, do I actually want to fight? The only way I'm going to find out is if I get in the ring and have a feel for it. So, getting in the ring today, I definitely want to fight, but I definitely want to get better as well.

“So, I'm hungry for more. I'm hungry to get back on that gravy chain and just continue everything that I kind of left behind in 2025. I had a a tough defeat in my last fight and I just want to pick up and move forward again.

“I'm glad that I got back in the ring and I figured out that this is where I want to be. It was a real test for me to figure out if I still want to continue or not. And this was a a good eye-opener to say this is where I want to be. I want to get back in the ring and go again.”

(REUTERS)
Jamie Braidwood20 December 2025 11:55

Anthony Joshua wants Tyson Fury next: 'Give him 24 hours!'

Anthony Joshua said he would prefer to face Tyson Fury in his next fight rather than staging another warm-up bout in the interim.

“We can do that, by the way,” Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn said during his fighter’s post-match press conference. “Straight away. No interim fights.

“If Tyson's ready and AJ's ready, we don't have to fight in February or March.”

“Give the doser eight weeks,” Joshua said, while mimicking Fury’s voice. “24 hours to sign a contract. Let's see if he's a man!”

(Getty Images for Netflix)
Jamie Braidwood20 December 2025 11:15

Jake Paul vs Anthony Joshua final punch stats revealed after Briton’s KO win

Compubox’s statistics for the fight have listed Paul, 28, as having landed a meagre 16 punches from 56 thrown in the five-and-a-half completed rounds. Still, some viewers will have been impressed that Paul even managed to land that many.

Meanwhile, Joshua is credited with 48 successful punches from 154 thrown. That puts his percentage of success at 33 per cent, while Paul’s stands at 29 per cent.

Jake Paul vs Anthony Joshua final punch stats revealed after Briton’s KO win

Joshua stopped the YouTuber-turned-boxer in the sixth round after struggling to pin him down early on
Alex Pattle20 December 2025 10:40

Anthony Joshua accused of ‘shameful’ performance against Joshua Paul to taint legacy

Anthony Joshua has come in for criticism over his performance against Jake Paul, having taken six rounds to stop the YouTuber-turned-boxer.

Joshua, a former two-time world heavyweight champion, fought Paul in a professional heavyweight fight on Friday. That meant knockouts were allowed, with many fans craving an early KO defeat for Paul in Miami.

Anthony Joshua accused of ‘shameful’ performance against Joshua Paul to taint legacy

Joshua stopped the YouTuber-turned-boxer in the sixth round, having struggled to pin him down early on
Jack Rathborn20 December 2025 10:10

Joshua accused of enabling 'WWE' style fight with Paul

Former NFL player and TV personality Shannon Sharpe said: “What are we watching? Is Joshua going to let his hands go? This looks more like WWE than a boxing match, but here I am watching.”

Jack Rathborn20 December 2025 09:50

Laila Ali pinpoints where Anthony Joshua must improve

“We wanted him to dominate, use the jab, set up the right hand,” Laila Ali told Netflix.

“He got there eventually. Jake was running around the ring, I'd like to see Joshua go back and work on cutting off the ring.

“The fans saw a fun fight, it played out how we thought anyway but wasn't in the first round.”

Jack Rathborn20 December 2025 09:30

Anthony Joshua defends performance against Jake Paul: 'I tried my best'

Anthony Joshua defended his performance against Jake Paul in his post-fight press conference, and said his beaten opponent had displayed a lot of “heart and spirit”.

“What I could have done better is a lot of things, 100 per cent. In the fight game, you've seen the amazing fighters that have graced us over the last 100 years and the expectations that we put on ourselves are immense.

“But I tried my best. Jake done well while it lasted. I wish that I could have knocked him out at the start, but as we as we saw tonight, Jake has spirit. He has some heart. He tried his best and I take my hat off to him because number one, a lot of fighters haven't got in the ring with me and Jake did.

“And secondly, even when he got knocked down, he kept on trying to get up and I take my heart off to him. So America, I think you have someone who could potentially, if he still has the heart for it, come back again, dust the dirt off his shoulder and come again and maybe sell out this arena sometime in 2026.

“Maybe against a Gervonta Davis, a Ryan Garcia, who knows?”

(Getty Images for Netflix)
Jamie Braidwood20 December 2025 09:18

Who could Jake Paul face next?

Jake Paul says he wants to fight men his own size and eventually win a cruiserweight world title.

Will the interest be there, though?

Jai Opetaia is widely considered the number one cruiserweight on the planet, he owns The Ring belt, and the IBF world title.

Gilberto Ramirez holds the WBO and WBA straps, while Noel Mikaelyn is the WBC champion.

Paul is ranked 15th by the WBA, and could continue down that route, their rankings are currently:

Champion: Gilberto Ramirez

1. TBA

2. Leonardo Mosquea

3. Lenar Perez

4. Aloys Youmbi

5. Mike Perez

6. Yuniel Dorticos

7. Alexey Egorov

8. Chris Billam-Smith

9. Aleksei Papin

10. Robin Sirwan Safar

11. Roman Fress

12. Giovanni Cristian Scuderi

13. Pat Brown

14. Liam Callanan

15. Jake Paul

Jack Rathborn20 December 2025 09:00

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