Anthony Joshua didn’t get the early win he predicted, but he did get the knockout he sought. And now that he got what he wanted against Jake Paul, Joshua is hoping to get Tyson Fury next year.
Joshua, a two-time former unified heavyweight titleholder, chased after an increasingly exhausted Paul until the body shots broke Paul down, knocked Paul down and helped set up Joshua’s thudding finishing blows upstairs.
“It wasn’t the best performance,” Joshua said afterward. “The end goal was to get Jake Paul, pin him down and hurt him. That had been the request leading up. It took a bit longer than expected, but the right hand finally found the destination.”
Paul seemed largely intent on survival – an understandable strategy, if highly frustrating to watch. But given that Paul was much smaller, far less experienced and significantly less accomplished, he survived longer than his detractors hoped.
“Jake Paul, he's done really well tonight,” said Joshua. “I want to give him his props. He got up time and time again. It was difficult for him, but he kept trying to find a way. It takes a real man to do that. But he came up against a real fighter tonight that's had a 15-month layoff. We shook off the cobwebs, and I can't wait to roll into 2026.”
That helped set up Joshua’s expected callout of former heavyweight king Tyson Fury, who many believe will end his latest retirement to make a huge event in 2026.
“If Tyson Fury is as serious as he thinks he is, and he wants to put down his Twitter fingers and put on some gloves and come and fight ... step in the ring with me next,” Joshua said.
David Greisman, who has covered boxing since 2004, is on Twitter @FightingWords2. David’s book, “Fighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing,” is available on Amazon.
