As many expected, Anthony Joshua dealt with Jake Paul handily in their boxing match in Miami.
Anthony Joshua dropped Jake Paul four times before knocking him out in the fifth round. Joshua said he wasn’t totally satisfied with his performance, as Paul survived the majority of the fight despite being in a mismatch of size and boxing pedigree.
Paul is ranked 15th in the WBA cruiserweight rankings, and he eyes a title in the future. And while he is a highly controversial figure, no one can now question his heart after stepping into the ring with a two-time heavyweight champion.
Rory McIlroy’s thoughts on Jake Paul taking Anthony Joshua fight
Rory McIlroy was one of the celebrity figures in attendance, on the back of winning the 2025 Sports Personality of the Year award, and he gave his thoughts on Paul beforehand.
The reigning Masters champion said, “Look, I commend Jake for taking this fight. He’s very brave. But I can’t see past AJ.
“The reach advantage, the height advantage, the experience. I’m a big fight fan, and I can’t see any other result than an early knockout by Joshua.”
He underestimated Paul’s ability to hang in the fight, as it took Joshua six rounds to complete the knockout, but he got the eventual result right. Perhaps there’s a job as a boxing analyst in McIlroy’s future!
Why Rory McIlroy almost left a golf tournament to watch a boxing match
McIlroy wasn’t kidding when he said he’s a big fight fan. In fact, in 2015, he almost left a tournament he was playing in order to watch Floyd Mayweather fight Manny Pacquiao in Las Vegas.
The five-time major winner was playing in the WGC-Cadillac Match Play Championship in San Francisco, and planned to make a 570-mile trip to Vegas for the fight, before flying back to complete the tournament.
In the end, he thought better of it, and instead stayed in the media center to watch.
He even offered to pay for the pay-per-view feed. What a guy!
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