Jake Paul vs. Anthony Joshua was formally announced at a kickoff press conference in Miami on Friday and even though you knew it was happening and you knew this was coming, it still felt surreal. Paul, the former Disney star, whose boxing résumé is a hodgepodge of YouTubers, mixed martial artists and grandfathers, against Joshua, the faded but still formidable former heavyweight champion who made it clear he wasn’t coming to screw around.
“I’m going to break his face,” said Joshua, who will face Paul on Dec. 19 in Miami, airing on Netflix.
Said Paul, “No one thinks I’m going to win. Join the list and be ready to be shocked.”
Wild. Think about how we got here. When Joshua was winning an Olympic gold medal, Paul was wrestling in high school. When Joshua turned pro, Paul was making a living posting Vines. In December 2019, Joshua became a two-time unified heavyweight champion, avenging a defeat to Andy Ruiz. A month later, Paul made his pro debut against YouTuber Ali Eson Gib.
Everything about this fight screams mismatch. Joshua has wins over Wladimir Klitschko, Joseph Parker and Ruiz. Paul has Julio César Chávez Jr., Nate Diaz and a 57-year old Mike Tyson. At 6-foot, 200-ish pounds, Paul frequently has size advantages over opponents. Standing face-to-face with the 6' 6" barrel-chested Joshua, Paul looked like a bug on a windshield.
Credit Paul. A few weeks earlier he was preparing to face Gervonta Davis, a 135-pound champion. To prepare, he sparred with Shakur Stevenson. When Davis fell out, Paul pivoted to Joshua. It’s like preparing to chase a chicken before deciding to go head-on with a bulldozer.
And Joshua is a bulldozer. Joshua has not fought since getting knocked out by Daniel Dubois in September of last year. His days as an elite heavyweight are over. He has a lot more as an elite puncher. The last boxing novice to get in the ring with him was Francis Ngannou, the former UFC champ. Ngannou had surprised everyone by going 10 rounds with Tyson Fury. It took less than two rounds for Joshua to put him to sleep.
Critics have said Joshua shouldn’t take this fight. That it’s legacy staining. Please. You can’t spend legacy. Joshua will make around $30 million to fight Paul, sources familiar with the deal told Sports Illustrated. Before the Paul call came, Joshua had been training for an eight-round tune-up this weekend against journeyman Cassius Chaney, for which he reportedly would have pocketed less than $1 million.
What fighter wouldn’t do that?
It’s been suggested Joshua could carry Paul for a few rounds. Joshua denies it. “I’m going to stomp all over him,” said Joshua. Eddie Hearn, Joshua’s promoter, explains why. Joshua is closing in on a two-fight deal with Turki Alalshikh, the Saudi Arabian government official who has bankrolled several of Joshua’s previous fights. Look bad against Paul and that deal—which could include an anticipated showdown with Fury—could go away.
Not that Hearn expects any problems when Joshua and Paul get in the ring.
“The difference in this kind of fight is once you get up close and anywhere near any kind of clinch or anything, it’s over,” Hearn told SI by phone from Riyadh, where he is co-promoting Saturday’s Ring IV card on DAZN. “The worst thing for Jake is it’s not just that AJ explodes within a clinch. AJ can fight long. He can fight short. I mean the right hand [Jake] won’t see, but we talk about the right hand that knocks out Ngannou. Forget the right hand, worry about the upper cut on the inside, worry about the left hook, worry about the jab. The jab could knock him spark out. That’s the reality. But if he gets hit by anything, it’s over. It’s just [a question of] how it’s going to be over.”
On Friday, Joshua did his best to pump up Paul. He called Paul “a serious fighter” who had shown he has talent. “He’s a conqueror,” said Joshua. “His mentality is better than Tyson Fury. He’s sitting here. I give him the respect he deserves.” He pointed out that he got into boxing late, at 18. “Three years later,” said Joshua, “I was one of the best in the world.”
Similarly, Paul tried to downplay the differences between them. “This is not as one-sided as people think,” Paul said. He said his advantages will be speed, footwork and using angles. He said Joshua’s issues with smaller fighters—namely Ruiz and Oleksandr Usyk—gives him confidence. He said all the pressure going into the fight was on Joshua and shrugged at those that called him delusional.
“I’ve gotten to where I’m at today because of delusional optimism,” said Paul. “It’s delusion—until it’s not.”
In a few weeks, we will find out. Paul says he isn’t afraid to face Joshua. “My Mom is terrified,” Paul said. But it’s one thing to stare down an ex-heavyweight champion at a press conference. It’s another to be in the ring with 10-ounce gloves. On Friday, Paul wore a necklace of diamond encrusted bullets to symbolize his firepower. Now he has to beat a guy with a couple of bazookas.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Time Will Tell How Mismatched Jake Paul vs. Anthony Joshua Is .
