Is Jake Paul Vs. Anthony Joshua Real? Boxing's Powerbrokers Seem To Think So
Jake Paul vs. Anthony Joshua doesn't sound legit, does it? But that's what 'The Problem Child' teased during an interview at London's Wembley Stadium before Oleksandr Usyk KO'd Daniel Dubois in a heavyweight title bout on Saturday.
"Yeah, like, this is where it's gonna happen," Paul said when asked if a fight with Joshua is realistic. "We're gonna do the unthinkable and create one of the biggest fights in the history of boxing, and that's what this is all about." Here's the whole thing:
Before dismissing Paul's dream fight with the former heavyweight champion, consider this: The promoter lording over the sport — Saudi boxing chief Turki Alashikh — said he'll even coordinate the particulars between Paul and Joshua. Alalshikh said on The Boxing Voice podcast that he's 'thinking' of matching Joshua against Paul. "I want to tell you something…if (Joshua) destroys (Paul), it will be good for me. The headache of Paul is finished."
No, the headache of Paul will not be finished. He's just heating up as a fighter and, more so, as one of the most powerful promoters in the sport as the co-boss with Nakisa Bidarian to Most Valuable Promotions. Didn't MVP just launch the the first-ever all-women's card at Madison Square Garden headlined like by Katie Taylor-Amanda Serrano III? Didn't Paul lure the most marketable fighter in the past half-century — Mike Tyson — out of retirement and produce bonkers numbers (108 million live global viewers) on Netflix?
So when Paul (12-1-0, 7 KOs) says he'll face Joshua (28-4-0, 24 KOs) at Wembley Stadium, it's time to heed him at his word because Alalshikh and other real players in boxing seem to be respecting Paul's game more than ever.
Former champion Tyson Fury believes that the former YouTuber-turned-prizefighter has a legitimate chance to beat Joshua by knockout. 'I think Jake Paul knocks him out,' Fury told Ring Magazine without a drip of irony. 'I just think Jake Paul would knock A.J. out … I think Jake Paul's on the rise. I like his new heavyweight look. A bit chubby, a bit bulky, getting there. And he just did a great job over the aging [Julio Cesar]Matchroom Boxing chairman and Joshua's promoter, Eddie Hearn, also chimed in on his boxer's potential fight with Paul, saying he 'reached out to (MVP)… to chat next week.'
'It sounds like A.J. is going to fight Jake Paul," Hearn said on The Stomping Ground. 'If he's true to his word, if he really wants the fight — it's all very well saying, 'Anthony Joshua has a weak chin and I will knock him out' — the fight will happen.'
Hearn added, 'If you want to do the biggest numbers in the sport, we'll make it happen but please I just want you to like be careful what you wish for."
Paul is surely wishing for just that: the biggest numbers. And that's why a match with Joshua — a relevant boxer that Paul's critics have wanted him to fight — just may be more real than fake. And boxing powerbrokers — from Alalshikh to Hearn to Fury to even Usyk— are all taking Paul seriously. It's about time.
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