The undercard for Anthony Joshua’s huge comeback fight against Jake Paul has now been revealed.
The former two-time unified world champion returns to the ring after 15 months away on December 19, looking to bounce back from his emphatic knockout defeat by Daniel Dubois at Wembley Stadium last September.
Joshua, 36, takes on YouTuber-turned-boxer Paul at Kaseya Center in Miami in a fully-sanctioned professional heavyweight bout.
Last week’s announcement has received largely critical responses from boxing figures and fans alike, although it has been reported that both fighters will pocket around £70million from the high-profile match.
On Friday, Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions (MVP) announced the undercard for the event, with three world title bouts and a face-off between two former UFC superstars included.
In the co-main event of the night, Alycia Baumgardner defends her unified IBF, WBO and WBA super-featherweight belts against Leila Beaudoin in a fight that will be contested over 12 three-minute rounds.
The fight was initially arranged for the undercard of Paul’s scheduled exhibition bout against lightweight champion Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis in November, but that event was cancelled after a civil lawsuit filed against Davis by his ex-girlfriend.
Also on the undercard of the Joshua fight are two of Paul’s former opponents from his 12-1 boxing career so far.
Both of them are former UFC champions in Anderson Silva and Tyron Woodley, and the pair go head to head in Florida, donning boxing gloves rather than stepping back into the octagon.
Paul has defeated both in the ring - Silva by decision in October 2022 and Woodley twice, first by decision in August 2021 and then by knockout in December that same year. That fight will be at cruiserweight, with a 195lbs limit.
There are two more women’s world title fights happening on December 19, with Cherneka Johnson defending her undisputed bantamweight championship against Amanda Galle. Yokasta Valle also puts her WBC strawweight belt on the line against Yadira Bustillos.
To round off the card, welterweights Avious Griffin and Justin Cardona do battle, as do Keno Marley and Diarra Davis Jr at cruiserweight.
There are two more undercard fights still to be added to the show, according to MVP.
Jake Paul vs Anthony Joshua undercard
Alycia Baumgardner vs Leila Beaudoin (for unified super-featherweight world championship)
Anderson Silva vs Tyron Woodley
Cherneka Johnson vs Amanda Galle (for undisputed bantamweight world championship)
Yokasta Valle vs Yadira Bustillos (for WBC strawweight world championship)
Avious Griffin vs Justin Cardona
Keno Marley vs Diarra Davis Jr
