Former WBC cruiserweight champion Tony Bellew has spoken out after Anthony Joshua’s crushing stoppage victory over Jake Paul.
Two-time unified heavyweight champion ‘AJ’ stopped Paul in the 6th round of their controversial match-up at the Kaseya Center in Miami on Friday night.
Paul hit the canvas twice in the 5th round before the hard-hitting Brit closed the show one round later, although many had predicted the 36-year-old –including Bellew, who said the fight would end when ‘AJ’ wanted it to — to stop the American in the earlier stages of the fight.
Speaking on social media, Bellew shared his verdict on the meeting between ‘AJ’ and Paul, speaking fondly of both fighters, as he says the ‘most important thing’ was that ‘The Problem Child’ came out of the bout without any lasting damage.
“The most important thing imo is he didn’t leave him permanently hurt! I believe everyone won last night.. Fair play to Jake Paul, He tried everything he could to survive! AJ does what he set out to do which is stop Jake Paul! Boxing is and always will be the ultimate 1v1 sport!”
The most important thing imo is he didn’t leave him permanently hurt! I believe everyone won last night.. Fair play to Jake Paul, He tried everything he could to survive! AJ does what he set out to do which is stop Jake Paul! Boxing is and always will be the ultimate 1v1 sport!👊
— Tony Bellew (@TonyBellew) December 20, 2025
Joshua wasted no time in calling out former unified heavyweight champion Tyson Fury just moments after the result was made official. It has been suggested that the British duo are in line to face each other in a huge domestic clash in the later stages of 2026.
