Okay, now we have officially heard it all, and that is saying something when you consider that boxing is the wildest game.
On Friday night in Miami, we will get one of the craziest ‘crossover’ events in many a year when two-time world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua goes in against YouTuber turned fighter Jake Paul.
On paper it’s the most insane mismatch you’ve ever seen. An elite heavyweight with 25 knockouts on his resume, still a danger to all, fighting a relative novice who fights mainly at cruiser.
Take a look at the two records and you will see the massive gulf in class – AJ has fought the very best in his division in his era (apart from Tyson Fury), while Jake’s 12-1 resume is a mixed bag of washed-up boxers, washed-up MMA stars and ‘celebrities’.
Joshua dealt with his last ‘crossover’ opponent in brutal fashion when he completely destroyed former UFC king Francis Ngannou in March 2024 – it was a devastating demonstration of chilling power. And Ngannou was WAY BETTER and WAY BIGGER than Jake Paul.
There is a reason people are worried for Paul’s health – we cannot fathom how this has been sanctioned as a professional 8-round fight, with both men wearing 10oz gloves.
The oddsmakers are drinking the Jake Kool Aid it would appear – ‘The Problem Child’ is only 6/1 to pull off the upset. You can add a zero to that as far as we are concerned. This is a brutal mismatch.
But despite the gulf in class – and size (check out the pictures from their recent press conference face-off) – Jake is still talking a great fight, claiming that he’s always been fighting against the odds, throughout his life.
Jake Paul on AJ and Usyk
But this week he took things to a whole new level, by using his own name in the same breath as the current heavyweight boxing king – the utterly peerless Oleksandr Usyk.
Usyl remember is an Olympic champion with a 335-15 amateur record, who is unbeaten in the pros and an undisputed world champion at both cruiserweight and heavyweight. One of the best to ever lace them up.
But here we have Jake claiming that Usyk’s two victories over Joshua are the blueprint for what he can achieve on Friday night. Remember the Ukrainian maestro twice outpointing the Brit in title fights in 2021 and 2022.
Usyk is an incredible talent, but here is Jake talking like he’s on the same level. His exact words were these:
“I believe my skills are better than his [Joshua], which is a crazy thing to say, but he’s a very basic fighter. He’s gotten to where he’s at because of the size and because of the power.
“So the skills are what’s gonna win this fight, you’ve seen that when Usyk fought him, and I believe it’s gonna be very similar to that.”
Why Jake Paul is so wrong
Okay, so Jake says AJ is where he is because of size and power. Of course he is, that’s heavyweight boxing, Jake. They are big guys for a reason. But while Usyk is smaller, he’s still a strong puncher but also a brilliant technician. Jake is smaller still with none of the skills.
As crazy comparisons go, this one is right up there. We await Friday night’s ‘entertainment’ with interest.
If you do want to watch it all unfold, it will stream live on Netflix (free to existing subscribers) with ring walks not before around 10pm Eastern (3am Saturday in the UK).
