Social media boxing star Jake Paul clashes with former world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua in Miami.
YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul is back in action on Friday night when he faces the biggest test of his career against two-time unified heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua.
Joshua will start as the huge favourite in this one, despite not having fought for more than a year and after taking a break from boxing.
For Paul, this bout – more than the rest of his previous fights combined – will go a long way to convincing supporters and sceptics alike whether the brash-talking social media star is a genuine world-class contender or nothing more than an overhyped pretender.
Here’s what you need to know in advance of Paul vs Joshua:
What is the date and start time for the Paul vs Joshua fight?
The fight is scheduled for Friday, December 19.
Paul and Joshua are expected to undertake their ring walks at 10:30pm local time (03:30 GMT Saturday). The fight will begin shortly thereafter.
Where is Paul vs Joshua being held?
The heavyweight contest will be staged at the Kaseya Center in Miami, United States.
The venue is home to the three-time National Basketball Association (NBA) champion Miami Heat and can hold up to 20,000 spectators for boxing matches.
How to watch and follow Paul vs Joshua?
Al Jazeera’s live text commentary and photo coverage of the fight night will begin at 23:30 GMT on Friday, December 19. We will bring you all the pre-fight talking points, analysis and build-up before bringing you round-by-round Paul-Joshua updates live.
This whole fight card will be available live worldwide exclusively on Netflix. All Netflix subscribers can stream the event at no extra cost.
What are the betting odds?
Joshua has a substantial height and weight advantage – and his professional fighting resume is far superior – making the Briton the overwhelming bookie’s favourite to win the fight.
Odds via FanDuel (subject to change) offer the following money lines, suggesting a Joshua win as a near-certainty:
Jake Paul to win: +700
Anthony Joshua: -1300
What is the fight purse?
Figures vary, but it appears both fighters are in for the largest payday of their careers.
It was initially reported that Paul and Joshua would evenly split a whopping $184m fight purse.
Paul has since claimed on social media that the fight will actually be worth a staggering $267m, but has provided no evidence to back up that inflated figure.
Why hasn’t Joshua fought in more than a year?
It will be Joshua’s first bout since a brutal fifth-round knockout loss against fellow Englishman Daniel Dubois in September 2024.
In the past 14 months, the 36-year-old Joshua also underwent elbow surgery and took time off the sport to recover and recharge mentally and physically.
Why didn’t Paul fight Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis?
Paul’s November 14 exhibition boxing match against WBA world lightweight champion Gervonta “Tank” Davis was scrapped on November 4 after it emerged that a civil lawsuit had been filed against Davis in Miami-Dade County in late October.
The scheduled fight had drawn significant global interest due to the novelty of the matchup that pitted the much-larger Paul against Davis, who fights at the 135-pound (61kg) weight limit.
Who is Jake Paul?
Paul, 28, is from Westlake, Ohio where he and his older brother Logan shot to fame through social media. Jake began his career posting videos on the online platform Vine in September 2013 and had amassed 5.3 million followers and 2 billion views before the app was discontinued, according to reports.
Paul is 6-feet, 1-inch tall (1.85m) and normally fights at the cruiserweight – or junior heavyweight – division. The weight class limit for the division is listed at 200 pounds (91kg).
The American enters this fight off the back of his last successful bout against former world middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr in June, which he won by unanimous decision.
Before that, he shot to worldwide fame in November 2024 when he prevailed in a decision victory over legendary heavyweight Mike Tyson, who was 58 at the time and was a shadow of his former self.
Who is Anthony Joshua?
Anthony Joshua is a 6-feet, 6-inch tall (1.98m) boxer from Watford, just outside London, England.
Under the parameters of the bout, Joshua, who historically has weighed in at about 250 pounds (113kg) for past heavyweight fights, will be limited to no more than 245 pounds (111kg) against Paul.
Joshua is a two-time unified heavyweight world champion. He held the unified titles (WBA, IBF, WBO) at the following time periods: April 2016 to June 2019, when he won the IBF belt and unified it, losing them to Andy Ruiz Jr; and again from December 2019 to September 2021, after winning the rematch against Ruiz Jr. before losing to current heavyweight world champion, Oleksandr Usyk.
What’s Paul’s fight record?
Paul began professional bouts in 2020, and his pro fight record is 12-1.
His only loss came in February 2023, when he lost to Tommy Fury, the brother of former heavyweight world champion Tyson.
What’s Joshua’s fight record?
The 36-year-old’s fight record is 28-4. Joshua has fought several famous heavyweights, including Usyk, Dubois and Wladimir Klitschko.
He is eight years older than Paul and has more than double the number of career professional fights than his opponent.
What has Paul said about the fight?
Paul has predicted the bout will end via a knockout victory in the fifth round.
“I’m here to go out there and shock the world,” Paul said. “I know what I’m capable of. People say, ‘Oh, he’s out of his mind.’ I’ve gotten to where I am today because of delusional optimism. No one thinks I’m going to win, so join the list and be ready to be shocked.”
“He’s one of the best heavyweights ever,” Paul added. “But I believe that fighting a smaller man is often times harder for a heavyweight because of the speed difference and because of the foot speed, because of the angles. All that power is great. I just have to avoid that one shot. I believe that I can do that. I know I can pick him apart and score points.”
What has Joshua said about the fight?
Despite being the odds-on favourite for victory, Joshua says he is approaching the eight-round contest seriously.
“You can’t underestimate anyone. I’m going to take him seriously,” Joshua said. “After a year out, I’ve realigned a lot in my life. I got my focus back to where it needs to be.”
Joshua, who has 25 career KOs as a pro, acknowledged that anything short of a quick knockout win will be perceived as additional erosion of his standing among the elite heavyweights.
“I’ve seen it. I’ve heard it,” he added. “As I said to Jake respectfully, I need to cut him up. I need to break him up, and I need to hurt him. That’s just what we do.”
Who is fighting in the co-main event?
In the co-main event, it will be an all-North American women’s matchup with Alycia Baumgardner of the United States putting two of her three World super featherweight titles (IBF, WBO) on the line against Canadian challenger Leila Beaduoin.
Baumgardner, aka “The Bomb”, hasn’t been defeated since 2018 and will start as the strong favourite in the eighth title match of her professional career.
Beaduoin, who is riding a four-fight winning streak, will need to be at her all-time best to upset the champ on Friday.
Source: aljazeera.com
