Rory McIlroy made it from London back to Miami to attend the fight
Rory McIlroy made a quick return to the United States following his BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award win to attend Friday’s Jake Paul v Anthony Joshua fight in Miami.
The Holywood man was pictured ringside at the Kaseya Center as Joshua defeated the YouTuber-turned-boxer. However, it did take the former two-time heavyweight champion until the sixth round to do so.
McIlroy was all smiles as he posed for a photo with Bela Bajaria, Chief Content Officer of Netflix and Dave Portnoy, American businessman and social media personality.
Joshua, who is reportedly on the verge of finalising a much-anticipated bout with Tyson Fury in Riyadh in 2026, had to put in more effort than expected to overcome a courageous, albeit significantly outmatched, opponent.
In the initial rounds, Joshua found it challenging to land a significant hit, with Paul evading his opponent by manoeuvring around the ropes.
The 36-year-old, whose last fight was 15 months ago when he was defeated by Daniel Dubois, couldn’t deliver the swift victory many had anticipated. However, the threat from the elusive Paul remained minimal as the American concentrated more on dodging his opponent than landing a punch himself.
A missed overhand right from Joshua led to Paul cheekily sticking his tongue out during the second round. The underdog did manage to land a jab halfway through the third round, but the lacklustre bout continued to drag, much to the growing frustration of the audience.
The atmosphere in the Kaseya Center wasn’t improved when Paul repeatedly fell to the canvas in an odd fourth round, leading referee Christopher Young to interrupt and tell the pair “the fans didn’t pay to see this crap”.
Joshua finally demonstrated his superior skills in the fifth round as Paul’s chances quickly dwindled. A powerful left resulted in the first count of the match, and a right-left combo just 30 seconds later led to another.
Paul managed to make it to the bell at the end of the fifth against an opponent nearly two stone heavier. However, a relentless onslaught from Joshua in the sixth round saw Paul buckle in the corner, leading to the fight being stopped.
