The Drake Curse Strikes Again: Jake Paul Knocked Out by Anthony Joshua in High-Stakes Fight

The infamous “Drake Curse” was reinvigorated as Drake watched his $200,000 bet go up in smoke when Jake Paul lost to Anthony Joshua in a highly anticipated boxing match on Saturday night.

The Canadian rapper posted a screenshot of his bet on Instagram ahead of the game, captioning it: “Jakeyyyyy boy. Locked tf.”

But the gamble didn’t pay off. Joshua defeated Paul in a lopsided contest, adding another name to the growing list of athletes who have stumbled after receiving public support from Drake.

Anthony Joshua had the edge on the scoreboard in the early rounds, but the fight was slow and awkward with few clean moves. Jake Paul relied on movement, light jabs and the occasional right hand to survive, circling repeatedly and keeping his distance while avoiding inflicting major damage.

Joshua applied the pressure and landed sporadic body shots, uppercuts and a few crosscuts, mostly in the clinch, but he struggled to track Paul or maintain control. Both fighters missed frequently, slipped to the canvas multiple times and were tied up for long periods of time. A brief pause ensued as Paul claimed a low blow, replays show

Joshua’s knees made contact as he fell. Despite leading on points, Joshua’s inability to dominate the fight or generate meaningful offense made the fight difficult to score and ugly to watch, with Paul surviving several rounds that already felt like a moral setback for Joshua.

Jake Paul was knocked down twice in a brutal fifth round, but he survived. However, the sixth round ended for Jake Paul, who was TKOed.

Drake’s betting history has become something of a running joke in the sports world, with many pointing to his record of high-profile losses.

The rapper’s hometown team, the Toronto Blue Jays, recently fell victim to the curse. The Los Angeles Dodgers won Game 7 after Drake publicly supported the team during the 2025 World Series.

The Toronto Sun put it bluntly: “The Toronto Blue Jays lost Game 7 of the World Series to the Los Angeles Dodgers partly due to the terrible Drake Curse.”

The alleged curse gained attention after Drake backed Conor McGregor during his 2018 UFC fight against Khabib Nurmagomedov.

McGregor was knocked out in the fourth round despite being one of the most intriguing fighters in the sport at the time.

Since then, Drake’s endorsement has coincided with a series of failures in sports. From Alabama football to the Golden State Warriors and even Serena Williams, the rapper’s endorsements often come with unexpected losses.

The trend has become so consistent that some gamblers now use Drake’s bets as a contrarian indicator.

Paul himself had felt the sting before. In February 2023, after losing a split decision to Tommy Fury, he learned that Drake had bet $400,000 on him to win. His response was curt.

“Fuck. This is Drake’s fault,” Paul said at the postgame press conference. “Drake, man, why did you do this to me? It’s all my fault. $400,000 is nothing to him. He’s bet on me before and won a lot of money. He’s probably about the same now.”

Paul later joked that he should apologize to Drake for the loss. But with Saturday’s defeat, the curse seemed to have struck again.

From the start, the odds were stacked against Paul. Joshua, a former two-time heavyweight champion, entered the ring with a 6-foot-6 frame and 25 knockouts in 32 wins.

At 6-foot-1, Paul is an underdog at +800, while Joshua sits comfortably at -1,200.

Paul entered Saturday’s game with a 12-1 record. Now, both of his losses have one thing in common: Drake’s money was on his shoulders.

Relevant