Jake Paul finally bit off more than he could chew in choosing to throw down with Anthony Joshua, but he did at least survive for longer than people expected.
Joshua (now 29-4 with 26 wins inside distance) is a two-time world heavyweight champion and one of the most devastating finishers in the sport in the last quarter of a century. Even at the age of 36, coming off a devastating loss last time out, he is a fearsome knockout threat to any top heavyweight.
But Youtuber turned boxer Paul is not a top heavyweight, he is a cruiserweight who was stepping up to heavy to fight a man several leagues above him in terms of experience and all known evidence.
Jake’s victims so far have been a weird mix of celebrities, former MMA stars and washed up boxers. Not exactly the CV to strike fear into Joshua. And so it proved as ‘The Problem Child’ was knocked out in six rounds at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida.
Let’s look at all the results the Ohio native has managed so far since turning to the sweet science.
Jake Paul fights
Jake Paul has a 12-2 professional boxing record since making his official debut in 2020, 12 wins and just two defeats. Seven of Paul’s victories have come by way of knockout.
These are his fights and results so far:
| Opponent | Date | Venue | Result |
| Anthony Joshua | 19/12/2025 | Miami | L KO6 |
| Julio Cesar Chavez Jr | 28-06-2025 | Anaheim | W UD (97-93, 98-92, 99-91) |
| Mike Tyson | 15-11-2024 | Arlington | W UD (79-73, 80-72, 79-83) |
| Michael Perry | 20-07-2024 | Tampa | W TKO6 |
| Ryan Bourland | 02-03-2024 | San Juan | W KO1 |
| Andre August | 15-12-2023 | Orlando | W KO1 |
| Nate Diaz | 05-08-2023 | Dallas | W UD (97-92, 98-91, 98-91) |
| Tommy Fury | 26-02-2023 | Diriyah | L SD (73-76, 75-74, 73-76) |
| Anderson Silva | 29-10-2022 | Glendale | W UD (77-74, 78-73, 78-73) |
| Tyron Woodley | 18-12-2021 | Tampa | W KO6 |
| Tyron Woodley | 29-08-2021 | Cleveland | W SD (78-74, 77-75, 75-77) |
| Ben Askren | 17-04-2021 | Atlanta | W KO1 |
| Nate Robinson | 28-11-2020 | Los Angeles | W KO2 |
| Ali Eson Gib | 30-01-2020 | Miami | W TKO1 |
Key to results: KO=Knockout, TKO=Technical Knockout, UD=Unanimous Decision, SD=Split Decision.
What has Jake Paul actually beaten?
Until Joshua, Paul has never faced a boxer remotely close to the peak of his powers. Julio Cesar Chavez Jr and Mike Tyson were big names back in their day (Tyson a huge name) but those days are long gone.
Tyson was 58 years old by the time he faced Jake in a fight which drew 108million viewers to Netflix to see if ‘Iron Mike’ could still throw a devastating punch. The answer was in the negative, and eight rounds of comparitive boredom ensued.
Chavez Jr was much-maligned in his day, and even he looked like he could have taken Jake out when finally waking up late in their meeting in Anaheim in June 2025.
Outside of that it’s a strange mix of former MMA stars and celebrities.
Who beat Jake Paul?
Paul’s only professional losses so far are to Tommy Fury – he of ‘Love Island’ fame – and to Joshua.
Tommy, who most experts believe is not yet good enough to win a British title (let alone a world title) outpointed Jake in their eight-rounder in Saudi Arabia in early 2023.
There has been talk of a rematch, and money does talk. So we expect it to happen one day.
Did Jake Paul have a chance against AJ?
Based on all known evidence, he had pretty much zero chance. Unless AJ suddenly got very old overnight and allowed Jake to hit him flush. And that did not come close to happening.
The gulf between these two men – in both size and ability/results – was just enormous, as many experts had pointed out.
Highly respected boxing exec Lou DiBella called the fight ‘an unsafe abomination’, while longtime boxing writer Dan Rafael (formerly of ESPN), said quite simply: “KO1 if AJ wants. Tyson-McNeely level mismatch”.
Boxing manager Sam Jones – who looks after former world heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois among others, was not sure how the fight could actually go ahead.
He said on social media: “I just can’t see the fight going ahead like who on gods green earth is telling someone as wealthy as Jake this is a good idea. They are worlds apart on ability and if that wasn’t enough AJ is double his size. Telling you if this goes ahead and AJ lands clean it’s going to be BAD”
What did the odds tell us?
We’d argue very little – to the point of purposely ignoring them.
Jake was trading as a 6/1 underdog right now, which we described as utterly ridiculous. We’ve seen Joshua opponents – actual, proper, elite heavyweights – start at bigger odds in world title fights against the British superstar. Madness.
Joshua, for what it it is worth, was a 1/9 favourite. We’d have expected him to be a far heavier favourite.
Joshua vs Jake Paul rules
This was an officially sanctioned pro boxing fight in the heavyweight division.
It was fought over 8 x 3-minute rounds, with both men wearing 10oz gloves.
Joshua was not allowed to weigh more than 111kg or 245lbs (17st 7lbs) at the official weigh-in on Thursday December 18. He came in at 243lbs (17st 5lbs) – a couple of pounds under.
AJ would have faced a significant financial penalty had he failed to make that weight number.
