Anthony Joshua knocks out Jake Paul to win Netflix boxing bout

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British boxer Anthony Joshua celebrates after defeating US boxer and influencer Jake Paul (off frame) in a non-title heavyweight bout at the Kaseya Center in Miami.

AFP

MIAMI – Former world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua said it was “not his best performance”, as he knocked out YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul in their controversial Netflix-backed bout in Miami on Friday.

The fight at the Kaseya Center, which saw both men reportedly splitting a mammoth purse of US$184 million, had triggered alarm across boxing due to the gulf in physical size and class between Britain’s two-time former world champion Joshua and Paul, an internet personality who has forged a lucrative career through a handful of novelty boxing contests.

However, Joshua made hard work of defeating his vastly less accomplished opponent, before his superior size and power eventually told in the later stages of the eight-round fight, with a sixth-round knockout.

A lackluster contest descended into farce at times, with Paul repeatedly dropping to the canvas and grappling at Joshua’s legs.

At one stage even referee Christopher Young appeared to be losing patience, warning the fighters in the fourth round: “The fans did not pay to see this crap.”

As Paul tired, Joshua began to land punches with more regularity, and after knocking down the American twice in the fifth round, the end came swiftly in the sixth.

“It wasn’t the best performance,” Joshua, 36, admitted afterwards. “But the end goal was to get Jake Paul, pin him down and hurt him.

“That was the