Anthony Joshua will be fighting Jake Paul come December 19, as confirmed by Most Valuable Promotions, but despite being confirmed to a 8-round professional bout, doubts emerge as to the validity of the fight. The fight will headline at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida and will further be broadcasted by Netflix.
Notably, Joshua hasn’t competed in a 8-round bout since 2015 when he was a budding fighter and had yet to reach the status of being a legitimate contender.
When it comes to the chances between both fighters, Paul is the obvious and extremely heavy underdog in this fight given Joshua’s experience, skillset and physical advantages [not excluding Joshua being 6’6″ compared to the 6’1″ Paul, and having a reach of 82″ versus Paul’s 76″].
In no shape or form is Jake Paul even expected to last a round yet the mismatch that will occur come December appears to be real.
The fight, in essence, seems to make no virtual sense other than being a moneymaking venture for both fighters, which leads to the obvious conclusion of a fixed fight.
Joshua, 36, had virtual no problems with knocking Francis Ngannou out cold last year in the 2nd round and with the 28-year old Paul having no greater skillset and less physicality than Ngannou, the obvious prediction would be a 1st round knockout for the British heavyweight (200+ lbs).
The fight appears to be a sanctioned professional contest and is set for a total of 8 rounds [over 3 minutes] with 10 oz gloves confirmed to be used by both fighters. The most glaring rule that has been introduced is Anthony Joshua not being allowed to go past 245 lbs for the fight.
Given the obvious gap in ability between the two fighters, any professional opinion signifies that the fight going past the 1st round would signal an oral agreement between Joshua and Paul to fight for a number of rounds. Though this has not been confirmed, and will not be for obvious reasons, the match seems to be nothing more than a cash grab for both boxers.
With the likelihood of Joshua “carrying” Paul to a decision rather than genuinely looking to finish the fight as quickly as possible, the sanctity of boxing as a whole can be affected as competitiveness seems to have been skewed for what appears to be a scripted fight ― similar to a professional wrestling contest where the result and direction of ‘fights’ are planned out from start to finish.
In essence, it means that a 1st or 2nd round knockout for Anthony Joshua is not only expected but required for the fight to be considered as a real contest. Though the 2024 bout between Joshua and Ngannou was also a gross mismatch, the manner in which Ngannou was disposed ― with the fighter needing oxygen to prevent a potential fatality ― when knocked out by Joshua had no suspicions of being scripted in any manner, unlike the upcoming Joshua-Paul fight.
With reports indicating the fight will see both fighters earn $70 million, it even more reinforces the theory of the match being scripted or fixed in some manner with such large amounts at stake and also points to the decline of boxing where heavily-mismatched fights appear to be more lucrative than any other fight in boxing ― including fights involving undisputed fights.
Lastly, there are health concerns for Jake Paul in this fight with Anthony Joshua being obviously miles ahead in his boxing ability ― which can suggest there are non-contract agreements set in place to ensure Jake Paul can finish the fight without accruing too much damage.
In the way of actual credit Paul could get from fighting Joshua, win or lose, the jury appears to still be out on that one as the match is not currently being viewed as a legitimate contest where both fighters are expected to genuinely fight to the best of their ability.
