If Jake Paul defeats Anthony Joshua on Friday night, it will be a seismic shock on a scale unprecedented in heavyweight boxing history.
That’s how wide the gap in class is between the YouTuber-turned-boxer (21-1, 7 KO), who is ranked outside the top 15 in all four world heavyweight governing bodies, and two-time world heavyweight boxing champion Joshua (28-4, 25 KO). By the time Paul fought his first professional fight in 2020 (without an amateur career), Joshua had won eight world title fights and lost one after winning an Olympic gold medal in 2012.
Not only would a victory for Paul be far greater than boxing’s No. 1 defeat this year (Rolando “Rolly” Romero scored points over Ryan Garcia in May), but it would also eclipse some of boxing’s most notable surprise results from decades ago, such as the points scored by Fritzi Zivic vs. Henry Armstrong (welterweight) in 1940 and Randolph Turpin vs. Sugar Ray Robinson (middleweight) in 1951 and Sugar Ray Leonard vs. Marvin Hagler (middleweight) in 1987.
The fights involving boxing legends were for world titles, and Paul was still far from the cruiserweight level.
In addition to experience and ability, size is also crucial: Paul moves up to heavyweight to face AJ. Oleksandr Usyk, the current No. 1 heavyweight in the world, successfully moved up from the cruiserweight division and defeated Joshua twice… but he is a former undisputed world cruiserweight champion and Olympic gold medalist.
However, Paul’s supporters point to the fact that Joshua has already been the victim of one of the biggest upsets in recent heavyweight history. There was no suggestion in June 2019 that a flabby Andy Ruiz would defeat Joshua in Recent York, but the American recovered from knocking down Joshua four times in the third round and earning a thrilling seventh-round TKO victory. However, Ruiz was not an unknown challenger to Joshua’s three world titles that night – three years earlier he had lost a dull points fight to Joseph Parker for the WBO world title.
Joshua avenged his defeat to Ruiz with a careful scoring six months later and regained the WBA, IBF and WBO belts. But an estimated 22 million viewers watched that humbling moment in the seventh round when Ruiz stopped him.
Losing to Paul would be an even greater humiliation for Joshua. This would leave an indelible mark on his career and irreparable damage to his reputation.
To put it in perspective, as much of a shock as Paul beating AJ would be, it would be bigger than these 10 iconic upsets in heavyweight boxing history.
11/02/1990: Mike Tyson L KO 10 vs. James “Buster” Douglas, Tokyo
Douglas, a 42-1 long shot, took advantage of Tyson’s impoverished preparation to defeat the champion for the first time in his career in round 10. Douglas, inspired by the recent death of his mother, used his excellent reach to land powerful punches throughout the fight. Douglas recovered from an eighth-round knockdown to deliver a stunning combination in round ten to become the undisputed champion. It was the first professional defeat for Tyson, known as “The Baddest Man in the World” after terrorizing the heavyweight division.
May 25, 1964: Sonny Liston L RTD 6 v. Cassius Clay, Miami
Clay, who later changed his name to Muhammad Ali, shocked the world when he forced the feared champion Liston, a 7-1 favorite, to retire on his stool after the sixth round. Ali gracefully dodged Liston’s early attacks and then landed precise punches that allowed Liston to fall in the sixth throw and become the undisputed champion.
22/04/2001: Lennox Lewis L KO 5 vs. Hasim Rahman, South Africa
Lewis underestimated the altitude in South Africa and his American opponent while filming a pre-fight role in Ocean’s Eleven. Lewis was caught by the little-known Rahman after dropping his hands in round 5 for the WBC and IBF belts. Lewis also lost to Oliver McCall in two rounds in 1994, another major disappointment.
June 13, 1935: Max Baer L PTS 15 vs. James Braddock, Recent York
The “Cinderella Man” went from a lost journeyman on the dole in 1933 to world heavyweight champion when he defeated the mighty Baer for the world title after starting 10-1 as an underdog.
30/10/1974: George Foreman L KO 8 v. Muhammad Ali, Zaire
Ali used the “drug rope” tactic to defeat world champion Foreman and regain the world heavyweight title at the age of 32 in the “Rumble in the Jungle”. Ali came off the ropes in the eighth race and knocked down the tiring Foreman, who was supposed to beat his compatriot.
06/19/1936: Joe Louis L KO 12 vs. Max Schmeling, Recent York
Louis was in excellent form and tipped to become champions when his unbeaten run hit the crossbar. The German reigned as champion (1930-31), but Louis’ form by KO was such that Schmeling started as a 10-1 outsider. Schmeling hit Louis’ right side three times in rounds 4 and 12.
15/02/1978: Muhammad Ali L PTS 15 vs. Leon Spinks, Las Vegas
Spinks, the 1976 Olympic gold medalist, defeated Ali by split decision in just his eighth professional fight. Ali (36) defended in the 11th defense but was unable to cope with the work rate of 24-year-old Spinks.
9/11/1996: Mike Tyson L. TKO 11 Evander Holyfield, Las Vegas
Tyson has demolished all four of his opponents since his release from prison, while Holyfield started the match at 25-1 as an underdog after a impoverished showing in his previous fight against Bobby Czyz. Holyfield had a direct exchange of words to stop Tyson from fighting for the WBA belt.
5/11/1994: George Foreman W KO 10 against Michael Moorer
After losing the previous fight, Foreman won a large right and finished 26-year-old Michael Moorer to become the world heavyweight champion again at the age of 45. Foreman had previously lost the world title in another upset to Ali 20 years earlier.
28/11/2015: Wladimir Klitschko L PTS 12 vs. Tyson Fury, Dusseldorf, Germany
The Ukrainian’s nine-year reign as world champion came to an end when Fury defeated him to claim a unanimous points victory. Fury’s move meant the Ukrainian never got into the fight and the Briton won three versions of the world title.
Top trainer and former world champion Robert Garcia has considered the outcome of a fantasy showdown between Terence Crawford and Manny Pacquiao.
The two generational greats reportedly came close to squaring off in 2021, back when Crawford was the WBO welterweight champion and ‘Pac Man’ held the WBA title.
Their unification match never materialised, though, as Pacquiao was scheduled to face Errol Spence Jr before ‘The Truth’ pulled out with a torn retina.
Instead, the Filipino legend ended up losing his WBA title to Yordenis Ugas at a stage when, while still serviceable, he was quite clearly past his best.
Crawford, meanwhile, was hitting top form around this time, just a few fights away from producing arguably a career-best performance against Spence.
He did, of course, manage to stop his welterweight rival in nine rounds, before moving up to 168lbs and becoming a three-division undisputed champion by dethroning Canelo Alvarez last September.
Based on those two performances, coach Garcia has told ESNEWS that he would favour ‘Bud’ to defeat even a prime version of Pacquiao.
“The Crawford that beat Spence – and the Crawford that beat Canelo – would probably beat Manny.”
While Crawford’s prime almost certainly came during his run of eight stoppages at welterweight, it is harder to pinpoint when Pacquiao ultimately reached his peak.
In terms of his most destructive performance at world level, however, many will point towards his second-round finish over Ricky Hatton in 2009.
While facing the ‘Hitman’ at 140lbs, Pacquiao would cement himself as a formidable welterweight champion soon after, dethroning Miguel Cotto with a 12th-round stoppage for the WBO title.
Former world champion Oleksandr Gvozdyk has been left between a rock and a hard place afterhis promotional contract with Zuffa Boxing has been terminated.
The Ukrainian dethroned long-reigning light-heavyweight champion Adonis Stevenson in 2018, scoring an 11th-round stoppage that left his opponent with a brain injury.
Gvozdyk then made a WBC title defence before losing to Artur Beterbievwho extended his ruthless surge with a 10th-round finish in their 2019 encounter.
Since that defeat, ‘The Nail’ suffered a unanimous decision loss to David Benavidez in 2024, before entering a perceived 50/50 contest against Radivoje ‘Hot Rod’ Kalajdzic in February.
With both making their Zuffa debut, the two veterans delivered a thrilling battle in which Gvozdyk scored two knockdowns and had built a sizable lead.
In round seven, though, the 39-year-old found himself on the canvas and was ultimately stopped on his feet after getting dropped a second time.
Given his overall performance, one would suspect he had done enough to justify another meaningful opportunity, yet Gvozdyk has since told vRINGe that he will no longer be fighting under the Zuffa banner.
“They terminated the contract in February after a loss. That is, every promoter has the option that if a boxer loses, they have the right to terminate the contract. That’s exactly what they did. After the fight, everyone was saying how great it was. That everything was great. I rested. I started preparing as planned – somewhere around May. And then, around April, they told me I’d received an email terminating the contract.”
This is because his contract has been terminated, while Kalajdzic’s next outing with Dana White’s promotional outfit is confirmed for September 26 against Craig Richards.
As for Gvozdyk, it is difficult to predict what will come next but, at the age of 39, one would suspect that he is close to hanging up the gloves.
Still, he could hardly have been happy to part ways with Zuffa, which also terminated its contract with Robert Meriwether following his defeat to Tony Hirsch Jr in April.
Former British champion and Olympic bronze medallist David Price has assessed whether his countryman, Conor Bennpossesses the necessary hand speed to defeat Ryan Garcia.
The two welterweights will square off at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena on September 12, with Garcia making a first defence of his WBC world title.
It was arguably a career-best performance that saw him dethrone Mario Barrios in February, scoring a first-round knockdown before winning a wide unanimous decision.
But despite coming off this dominant display, Garcia was far less impressive when he returned from a year-long doping ban and lost on points to Rolando Romero in May 2025.
Still, many would argue that the 28-year-old has shown signs of world-class quality, while Benn remains glaringly unproven at the top level.
The 29-year-old has also not fought at 147lbs since 2022, with his last two outings resulting in unanimous decision victories over faded versions of Chris Eubank Jr and Regis Prograis.
Against Eubank, in particular, Benn’s speed seemed a key factor in their two middleweight encounters last year, despite him suffering a points defeat the first time around.
As he approaches this welterweight contest against Garcia, though, former heavyweight contender Price has told The Smith Brothers that he sees Benn contending with an unfamiliar disadvantage.
“I think I [favour Garcia]. Conor Benn’s got great hand speed, but I think [Garcia’s] hand speed could make the difference in the fight.”
Like Garcia, Benn tested positive for a banned substance – clomifene – and was eventually removed from his cancelled 2022 encounter with Eubank.
MMA2 days ago
MMA2 days ago
MMA2 days ago
MMA2 days ago
MMA2 days ago
MMA2 days ago
MMA1 day ago
MMA1 day ago