Jake Paul claims he won two rounds and ‘wobbled’ Anthony Joshua in their controversial heavyweight fight in Miami

Jake Paul lost heavyweight bout against Anthony Joshua on Saturday; the American also dubbed Francis Ngannou soft for only lasting two rounds with AJ in 2024

Jake Paul arrives for a heavyweight boxing match against Anthony Joshua, Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Image:Jake Paul claims he won two rounds of his defeat to Anthony Joshua

Jake Paul claims to have won two rounds against Anthony Joshua and says he “wobbled” his opponent before being knocked out in the sixth round in Miami on Friday.

The 28-year-old suffered his second loss of his professional boxing career, with his first being to Tommy Fury in 2023, and had to undergo surgery after Joshua broke his jaw in two places.

Britain’s two-time world heavyweight champion struggled to put a stop to Paul in the early rounds, but the American also had difficulty staying on his feet throughout the bout.

Jake Paul gave his reaction to his clash with Anthony Joshua. Video courtesy of Netflix and MVP. Jake vs. Joshua is now available to watch globally only on Netflix

“It’s not that hard to get your a** beat,” Paul said on the Impaulsive podcast, co-hosted by his brother Logan Paul.

“I won two rounds then he won two, then I got dropped.

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“But I was doing good, my cardio, just the mental pressure of the big guy, and sparring the big people is different than the 10oz gloves so I was feeling his power a lot more.

“It was a great experience, I learnt a lot in there.

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“I wish I had more than like three weeks to put on more muscle so I could really hit him. My biggest mistake was not doing altitude training.

“I see where I could have done better so I’m a little disappointed but I also know how good he is. I had him wobbled at one point, but he had his hands up better this fight.”

Highlights of Jake Paul vs Anthony Joshua. Video courtesy of Netflix and MVP. Jake vs. Joshua is now available to watch globally only on Netflix

This was only Paul’s 14th professional bout after making his debut in 2020, while Joshua had fought 32 times professionally with 28 wins, 25 of which had come by knockout.

It was expected that Joshua would clean up the fight in the opening rounds due to his extensive experience and size.

Having undergone surgery on his jaw, Paul described it as feeling “like a baseball is in there” as he appeared to be visibly swollen on the lower left side of his face.

Jake Paul falls on the canvas after being hit by Anthony Joshua during their heavyweight boxing match (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Image:Jake Paul fell to the canvas several times during their heavyweight boxing match (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

What’s next for Paul?

Lasting six rounds with Joshua has planted a thought in Paul’s mind of who his next opponent could be – Francis Ngannou.

The former UFC fighter made his professional boxing debut in a defeat against Tyson Fury in 2023.

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Watch all angles of Anthony Joshua’s incredible knockout punch which ended his fight with Francis Ngannou

Ngannou was then beaten by Joshua via a second-round knockout in 2024.

Now Paul believes Ngannou has something to prove after lasting more rounds against Joshua than the UFC heavyweight.

“I told everyone I would do better than Francis [Ngannou],” Paul said. “Francis is low-key soft.”

But before he steps back into the ring, Paul will be taking a break to support his speed skating fiancé, Jutta Leerdam, at the Winter Olympics in February.

Anthony Joshua calls for a blockbuster clash with Tyson Fury after his win over Jake Paul. Video courtesy of Netflix and MVP. Jake vs. Joshua is now available to watch globally only on Netflix.

Paul given ‘reality check’

Paul had a “serious reality check” in his knockout loss to Anthony Joshua and will not think he can reach world-class level, says Sky Sports expert Johnny Nelson.

“I think he realised the task in hand when he stood there in the 22-foot ring.

“He sees an Adonis of a fighter, former world champion Anthony Joshua, in the other corner and that’s when reality hit fiction.

“Everything he had in his head, everything he thought that he could possibly do had disappeared, slipped out of the ring with the cornermen and he thought ‘wow, this is for real’.

Sky Sports’ Johnny Nelson gives his take on Anthony Joshua’s victory against Jake Paul

“Even a little jab that just gently missed him, you could see him thinking ‘what is this about?’ So it was a case of survival and I didn’t want Joshua to knock him out, if I’m honest with you. I thought ‘you’ve got to make this kid have a reality check’ and that’s what he actually did.

“Boxing looks so easy on the TV, it looks so matter of fact, no big deal – until you get punched and then reality kicks in.

“Jake Paul has done a brilliant job of promoting himself, promoting this fight, evoking human emotion and I think he’ll be a great promoter down the line. You had all these amazing fights on the undercard, all the female fighters getting their chance to shine, and I thought ‘you know what, you’re doing your job, you’ve got everyone talking about you.”