Fans who have been waiting for Jake Paul’s boxing career to collapse may get their wish on Friday night when the social media influencer-turned-boxer faces the biggest test of his career in the form of two-time unified heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua (Netflix, 8 p.m. ET).
Paul’s career began as little more than a sideshow, stopping fellow influencer KSI at a white collar expo before knocking out another influencer, AnEsonGib, in his professional debut. Paul’s second professional fight saw him score a viral knockout of the former NBA Nate Robinson stars on the undercard of the highly-watched event headlined by an exhibition between Mike Tyson and Roy Jones Jr.
Paul then went on to face a string of former UFC fighters, defeating Ben Askren, Tyron Woodley (twice) and Anderson Silva. Silva was the only one of Paul’s first five opponents who had any professional boxing experience, leading to calls for Paul to “face a real boxer”.
Paul did just that in his seventh professional fight, and it resulted in his first loss as Tommy Fury picked up a split decision win in a fight that saw Paul score a knockdown but ultimately fail to be active enough to beat two of the three judges at ringside.
Jake Paul faces his toughest test yet when he makes a calculated business decision against Anthony Joshua
Brian Campbell
After defeating former UFC star Nate Diaz, Paul scored back-to-back knockouts of club level fighters before stopping another former UFC fighter and current BKFC star, Mike Perry.
Paul then faced 57 year old Mike Tyson in a rude fight that left Tyson unable to do much of anything while Paul took the fight to the judges’ scorecards. Another win over the aging former world champion followed as Paul picked up a decision win over Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.
Looking at that resume, you can see a pattern of Paul almost exclusively facing younger, older and/or completely inexperienced boxers.
That won’t be the case on Friday, when he faces Paul A.J a lot A bigger man is the 6-foot-6 Joshua, a 2012 Olympic gold medalist and two-time unified heavyweight world champion.
“Yes, 100 percent. This is the 2007 Giants vs. Patriots game. I mean the list goes on, but the odds are stacked against me,” Paul said in the recent press conference. “There have never been sports teams in history that have come together where there is such a big difference in terms of skill, experience, resume, height, weight, etc. So this is going to be the biggest upset in the history of the sport and you guys have to witness it.”
Although Joshua is well past his prime, he is not far from being unable to compete with the best heavyweights in the world.
After starting his professional career 15-0, Joshua knocked out Charles Martin to capture the IBF Heavyweight Championship. After two successful title defences, Joshua stopped Wladimir Klitschko to add the WBA belt to his collection. After two fights, Joshua earned his third belt, stopping Joseph Parker for the WBO title.
Parker’s fight, the 21st of Joshua’s career, was the first time Joshua’s opponent had reached the final bell.
In June 2019, Joshua suffered a shocking TKO loss to Andy Ruiz Jr, losing his unified champion status in the process. Ruiz’s upset was one of the biggest upsets in heavyweight boxing history – and one that Paul’s fans are using as evidence that Joshua is a weak fighter, even when he is heavily favored.
Joshua got his revenge in a rematch with Ruiz, regaining all three of his world titles. After one defence, Joshua finally met a fighter who was clearly his boss, losing a September 2021 fight to Oleksandr Usyk and losing a rematch the following August.
Joshua won four of his five fights since the Usyk bouts, including a thunderous knockout of former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou, before suffering a brutal knockout loss in an IBF title fight with Daniel Dubois.
Although he is no longer among the elite, Joshua remains a talented, powerful, top heavyweight and a fighter unlike any Paul who has ever stepped foot in the ring.
“Jake Paul is a big challenge for me and he definitely has a great mentality,” Joshua said. “Great family, great brother, great person. So, yeah, it definitely creates a good challenge for me. But like I said before, the competition is really good.”
Let’s take a closer look at the rest of the undercard with the latest odds before arriving at the prediction and expert picks for the main event below.
Battle card between Joshua and Paul, odds
Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook
- Anthony Joshua -1200 vs. Jake Paul +700, heavyweight
- Alicia Baumgardner (c) -1400 vs. Leyla Beaudoin +750, unified junior lightweight title
- Anderson Silva -275 vs. Tyron Woodley +210, cruiserweight
- Jamaal Harvey -3500 vs. Kevin Cervantes +1300, junior lightweight
- Cherneka Johnson (c) -900 vs. Amanda Galli +550, undisputed bantamweight title
- Caroline Dubois (c) -3500 vs. Camila Panatta +1300, WBC lightweight title
- Yocasta Valley (C) -1400 vs. Yadera Bustillos +700. WBC strawweight title
- Avius Griffin -600 vs. Justin Cardona +400, welterweight
- Keano Marley -10000 vs. Diarra Davis Jr. +1800, cruiserweight
Where to watch Jake Paul vs Anthony Joshua
- date: December 19
- location: Cassia Center – Miami
- Start time: 8pm ET (main card)
- How to watch: Netflix (subscription required)
prediction
See what there is to say? If Jake Paul wins, it will be legitimately shocking. This would be a shocking outcome for the sport, and one that many would refuse to accept as legitimate, no matter how illogical the reform. Joshua is bigger, stronger, more technical, with more power and top-level experience against some of the best fighters in the world. Paul had fought some guys he knew who all came into the fight with at least some degree of disadvantage.
Anthony Joshua wins this fight 99 times out of 100. Paul’s best trait is his power, landing one big punch and knocking out Joshua is how Paul wins that fight out of 100. It’s highly unlikely, and Paul’s worst defensive traits, like hanging on the ropes but not landing punches, make him vulnerable to Joshua’s power and sharp punches. In fact, every round Paul survives is a win in its own way. Pick: Anthony Joshua via TKO2
Who will Anthony Joshua win against Jake Paul on December 19, and which mega-long prop should you target for a huge payday? Visit SportsLine now for Josh Nagel’s best bets for FridayDec. 19, heavyweight bout, all from a combat sports professional who’s been covering the sport for more than 20 years, and find out.