Anthony Joshua faces Jake Paul in one of boxing’s most divisive fights in Miami on Friday (today), with the British-Nigerian heavyweight vowing to end the YouTuber’s run
Joshua, 36, returns to the ring for the first time since a fifth-round knockout loss to Daniel Dubois last September, while Paul is having his 14th professional bout following a points win over former world champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr in June.
At the final press conference on Wednesday, Paul predicted “the biggest upset in the history of sports” and claimed he is “more important for boxing” than anyone else in the last decade.
“The odds are stacked against me. There’s no sporting teams in history that have gone together where it’s this big of a difference in terms of skill, experience, resume, height, weight, etc. So this is going to be the biggest upset in the history of sports, and you guys get to witness it,” he said.
Joshua outlined a sense of responsibility to beat Paul on behalf of the boxing world in the eight-round heavyweight bout at the Kaseya Centre, which will be streamed live on Netflix.
“With this one, it feels like I’m being pulled in to save the purists of boxing because people don’t like I’m fighting Jake,” Joshua said.
“If we look at the people that don’t want me to be here, but want me to put an end to ‘the Jake Paul show’, I understand it, and that’s why I carry boxing on my back with this fight.”
Paul defended himself by proclaiming a greater influence on boxing than Joshua.
“No one has done more for the sport of boxing in the last decade than myself,” Paul said.
“So if people cared about boxing, they would want me to win. But I see the angle they’re coming from in the sense he’s been doing it all his life. But I think that I’m more important for boxing, so if they cared about the sport, they would want me to win.”
At their first face-off in Miami, the 6-foot-6 Joshua towered over the 6-foot-1 Paul and promised violence.
“If I’m going to be honest, I’m going to break his face, I’m going to break his body up, I’m going to stomp all over him,” Joshua said.
Paul insisted he is willing to die in the ring to win the fight and has set his sights on challenging Tyson Fury next.
“I just have to avoid that one shot for eight rounds, and I believe that I can do that,” Paul said.
“I want him to cut me up. I want him to break my face, but guess what? He’s going to have to kill me to stop me, and I’m ready to die. Seriously. Ready to die in the ring to win this fight.”
The fight will take place in a rare 22-by-22-foot ring, larger than the standard 20-by-20 size, with Paul hoping the extra space will help him use his movement to tire out Joshua.
Former cruiserweight and heavyweight world champion David Haye has predicted a shock Paul victory, telling The Sun Sport, “I think somehow, I don’t know how it’s going to happen, but I think it’s going to be the biggest upset in sporting history.”
Rising British heavyweight Moses Itauma, who has sparred with Joshua, warned Paul the fight is “suicide” and predicted “the scariest knockout you’ve ever seen.”
Promoter Frank Warren confirmed that Tyson Fury has indicated he will return from retirement for a long-awaited British battle with Joshua next summer, but warned Joshua will have to forget about those plans if he suffers a loss to Paul.
Joshua admitted he needed a career reset after the Dubois defeat, but insisted the Paul fight presents an opportunity he couldn’t turn down.