How We Called Anthony Joshua's Knockout of Jake Paul

Jake Paul talked about taking souls. He talked about shocking the world. Anthony Joshua walked into Miami's Kaseya Center on Friday night and reminded everyone what happens when a YouTuber steps in with a former unified heavyweight champion who now has 26 knockouts from 29 wins.

The bookmakers had Joshua as a massive favourite to win outright, but the interesting markets were in the specials. Our All Sports members received three selections before the fight, starting with a RequestABet combination that captured exactly how we expected this to unfold.

Anthony Joshua to Win and Round 3 to Start @ 4/5

The logic was straightforward. Paul was never going to stand and trade with a man who has knocked out Wladimir Klitschko, Alexander Povetkin, and Kubrat Pulev. His only path to survival was movement, clinching, and making Joshua chase him around the ring. That buys time. The opening rounds would be frustrating for the crowd but profitable for anyone who understood that Paul's game plan was to survive, not to win.

That's exactly what happened. Paul spent the first four rounds circling, ducking, and refusing to engage. The Miami crowd booed. Joshua stalked. The fight reached Round 3 comfortably, and the first leg of our selection was home.

The second selection followed the same logic.

Over 4.5 Rounds @ 13/8

Joshua hadn't fought in fifteen months since his knockout loss to Daniel Dubois at Wembley. Ring rust was a genuine factor. Paul's constant lateral movement and clinching would frustrate the Brit and extend the fight beyond what the casual money expected. At 13/8, this was excellent value for a fight that was always going to take time to develop.

Round 5 is where the tide turned. Joshua finally found his range, landing a crushing left that buckled Paul's legs and sent him to the canvas for the first time. Before Paul could recover, a right-hand counter dropped him again. Two knockdowns in ninety seconds. The survival strategy was falling apart, but the bell saved him.

That fifth round also locked in our third selection.

Anthony Joshua 3+ Knockdowns @ 7/4

At 7/4, the market priced this as if Paul had genuine heavyweight durability. He weighed in at 216 pounds against Joshua's 243. When Joshua finds his range against smaller men, they go down repeatedly. The question was never whether Paul would get knocked down, it was how many times before the referee stepped in.

Round 6 lasted ninety-one seconds. Joshua opened with a sharp combination that dropped Paul for the third time. Paul rose, but there was nothing left. A monster right hand sent him crumbling into the ropes, and the referee waved it off at 1:31. Four knockdowns in total. Paul's jaw broken in two places. Surgery the following morning.

"It wasn't the best performance," Joshua admitted afterward. "Took a bit longer than expected, but the right hand finally found its destination."

For our members, the destination was the same place. Three selections leading to three winners.