Jake Paul plans to leave it all in the ring when he steps up to fight Anthony Joshua.
In one of the most shocking fight bookings of all time, Paul is set to fight Joshua, a two-time heavyweight boxing champion, on Dec. 19 in Miami. After Paul’s original opponent Gervonta Davis was forced out of a Nov. 14 date with Paul due to Davis’ dealing with a civil suit in which he’s accused of batter and kidnapping among other charges, Paul insisted he would still fight in 2025. Few expected him to land Joshua as an opponent.
Now, with Joshua a massive favorite as expected, Paul heads into the toughest test of his career. One for which he is willing to a sacrifice anything to pass.
“Without a shadow of a doubt,” Paul said at a press conference Friday in Miami when asked if he truly believes he can beat Joshua. “One hundred percent. Self-belief is the most powerful thing in the world and it’s been there since my first fight, my second fight. Wasn’t supposed to beat Nate Robinson, Ben Askren, Tyron Woodley, the UFC champion with hammers in his fists. Not supposed to beat [Anderson] Silva, Mike Perry ‘The King of Violence,’ all easy work. I know this is much more challenging, but I know what I’m capable of in the gym and I know that my team knows what I’m capable of and I’m trusting in them.
“This is going to be fun. 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. We’re all born to die.”
Joshua, for his part, said that anything short of a knockout of Paul would be considered a disappointment. The 36-year-old British star owns a 28-4 pro record, with 25 of those victories ending inside the distance.
For Paul, facing a heavyweight legend is nothing new. Twelve months ago in one of the most watched fights in combat sports history, Paul won a unanimous decision over 59-year-old Mike Tyson, regarded as the most fearsome boxer in the world in his prime. Joshua presents an entirely different kind of challenge and Paul agreed when asked if him defeating Joshua would be the biggest upset of all time.
“For sure, neck and neck with Tyson and Buster [Douglas],” Paul said. “Right up there. Biggest stage. This will probably be the second-most viewed fight in the history of boxing behind me and Tyson and I’m going to go in there and win and shock the world.”
Throughout Friday’s press conference, Paul and Joshua showed respect for each other, with Joshua praising Paul’s team for putting the bout together on short notice. Paul, in turn, has recognized Joshua’s accomplishments, noting that he wants more than to be known as the influencer boxer who had the guts to throw down with Joshua.
He wants to be known as the influencer boxer that beat Joshua.
“He’s one of the best heavyweights ever, but I believe that fighting a smaller man is oftentimes harder as a heavyweight because of the speed difference and because of the foot speed, because of the angles, because of the head being off of the center,” Paul said. “So all of that power is great and he’s knocked people out, I just have to avoid that one shot for eight rounds and I believe that I can do that. So, when I’m bouncing around the ring, jabbing, weaving, and doing all of these things, I know I can pick him apart and score points and make this a very, very big contest.
“People say, ‘I respect Jake Paul for getting in there.’ No. Respect me because I’m about to win.”
