Anthony Joshua had his hand raised but did anyone really win from this circus against Jake Paul?

In the end, it was hard to know what made for more painful viewing: Jake Paul doddering around the ring with wobbly legs and a shattered jaw, spitting blood and supported by the ropes. Or Anthony Joshua dancing around in celebration and talking up a ‘systematic breakdown.’

By that point, around midnight in Miami, only a few crumbs of comfort remained: Paul had avoided serious injury. Joshua had – eventually – delivered the knockout he needed and remained on course for a showdown with Tyson Fury. But most of all? This was over.

Perhaps referee Chris Young put it best when he warned both fighters midway through the circus: ‘The fans did not pay to see this c***!’ Maybe he was right. Maybe they expected more than four-and-a-half rounds of Paul dancing and diving around the ring while Joshua had a fight with thin air. 

But did they really believe a converted YouTuber, a 13-fight cruiserweight, would go toe-to-toe with a former heavyweight champion? And if they did, what does that say about Paul’s powers of persuasion and our capacity to swallow anything they are fed?

They were warned when Paul carried a motionless Mike Tyson last year and they were warned for weeks that this might not be a tear-up. At least, after six messy rounds, their bloodlust was sated when Joshua finally found his target. His arm was raised but his stock fell in Miami.  

As for Paul? He can say he stuck it out for longer than many of AJ’s opponents. He can boast about his bravery and his grit – once his jaw heels, that is. But this was another tough watch for boxing, another night when Netflix platformed a circus and tested fans’ patience. No doubt plenty watched it but did anyone really win from this? Well, except these fighters’ accountants.

Early on Friday morning, a floating billboard had drifted north off the coast of Miami Beach. It beamed out advertisements for cell-phone carriers and cannabis-infused drinks. Then appeared the faces of Joshua and Paul. 

A few hours later, just across the bay, thousands tuned in to see if Paul really could drag a former heavyweight champion into deep, choppy waters.

That question, that nagging intrigue, that morbid fascination persuaded plenty to ignore reason and disregard everything our eyes told us. To come to the Kaseya Center and perhaps even spend $60 on a commemorative Christmas jumper.

Among those sucked in to make the trip? Kai Trump, golf icon Rory McIlroy, MLB star Juan Soto, Barstool founder Dave Portnoy, NFL legend Michael Irvin and a small army of streamers stalked by their own private cameramen. Rapper 6ix9ine walked Paul to the ring while on probation and while still wearing an ankle monitor.

Few VIPs turned more heads than a service dog who was paraded around ringside like a celebrity. The pup was decked out in shiny ear defenders. 

Joshua and Paul could have done with them to drown out the boos. They began after just 90 seconds and they barely relented until Joshua eventually found his target.

He arrived preaching grand plans – he threatened to kill Paul and he promised to ‘save’ boxing from this YouTuber with a big mouth, grand delusions and even deeper pockets. The reality, though, was simpler.

The sun has been setting on AJ’s career for quite some time and this offered an opportunity to squeeze a few more drops from the sponge. Supposedly to the tune of around $50million. Against a novice cruiserweight. So who could blame him?

There was only one issue: some fans, it seems saw through the haze. At Thursday’s weigh-in, in the public galleries – behind the hordes of invitees and influencers – there were almost as many empty seats as supporters. It was a healthier picture by the time the main event arrived on Friday night.

But when this fight was announced, tickets went on sale for between $99 and $30,000. Shortly before the main card kicked off, around 7pm local time, many tickets were available online for just $31. Soon they were down to $11.

At ringside, some VIPs relaxed in leather armchairs. Up towards the nosebleeds? There were still spots available by the time Joshua entered the arena.

It was an overwhelming young crowd, proof of Paul’s pulling power among a different generation. The early evidence suggested that many were new to boxing, too:  the undercard fight between UFC legends Anderson Silva and Tyron Woodley was barely two minutes old when the boos began. 

Turns out that was only a dress-rehearsal for their frustration. Perhaps none of that mattered to Paul or Joshua – not when Netflix bankrolled this event and then beamed it out to 300million subscribers. Not when they could point to other crossover fights.

Even Muhammad Ali took a trip to the circus – in 1976, The Greatest faced Japanese wrestler Antonio Inoki in what was branded a ‘multi-million-dollar sham.’ 

This, on the other hand, was billed by our ring announcer as ‘the biggest fight of the year.’ The sad truth? In terms of global appeal, he was probably right. Such is the warped world of boxing.

But perhaps this was always the destination for a former YouTuber hell-bent on breaking into this sport. 

The arc of content creation inevitably bends towards chaos. Towards greater and great extremes. These days, relevance relies on the constant pushing of boundaries.

The fear was that this would prove one step too far and serious damage could be done to his body and this sport. 

In truth, neither suffered irreparable damage but no one came out unscathed.