Jake Paul vs. Anthony Joshua: Netflix boxing fight analysis

Such was the strangeness of Anthony Joshua’s bout against Jake Paul, that the fight arrived on Netflix under a cloud of suspicion that boxing had succumbed to the choreography.

To be clear, this was a professional competition, not a scripted event – and the story it produced was as banal and one-sided as you would expect.

The plot played out in the arena was lifeless – a slow, dreary hour that would have struggled to get a charity rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

The ultimate irony is that this scene provided one of Joshua’s biggest paydays and, in all likelihood, his biggest audience on television.

With seconds remaining in the fourth round, referee Christopher Young may have spoken to viewers around the world as he brought the fighters together and urged them to clash.

“The fans didn’t pay to see this nonsense,” he said, directing his comments at Paul.

“Amen,” Netflix commentator Mauro Ranallo replied. “Christopher Young with Night Call.”

All week Joshua has spoken about “carrying boxing on his back”. On Friday night in Miami, he got rid of the load, but only after a difficult and exhausting operation.

Paul was there to stay.

The man who spent fight week promising the biggest upset in the history of the sport instead avoided participating.

He spun around endlessly—making the most of the space afforded by a two-foot-wider ring—and tried to run against the clock.

When he made contact, it was with echoes of his protégé’s past as a wrestler, as he constantly went down and grabbed Joshua’s leg.

There was an embarrassing lack of punches from Paul and a series of violent swings from Joshua that even a novice like his opponent was able to easily avoid.

“It’s a win but it’s not a success,” Joshua said afterwards. “I’ve improved a lot and I have to do it. I’m not happy.”

Joshua earned his share of the £210m purse, but from a boxing perspective – and for those in the UK who stayed up until the early hours to watch – the contest was meaningless.