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Is Jake Paul vs. Anthony Joshua a circus or a threat? Experts decide

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Jake Paul will face Anthony Joshua on Friday night in Miami in a fight that has divided boxing fans.

No sport provides debate, intrigue and controversy like boxing, and here we have another event that has taken the sports world by storm.

Love it or hate it, the Paul vs. event Joshua is shaping up to be one of the biggest events of the year.

Here, ESPN gathered the opinions of some of the biggest names in sports.

Anthony Joshua

“I don’t know how to give up on an opponent. I just can’t do it. Before this fight, I know I’m going to box and get injured. It has nothing to do with the contract; it’s just my mood.”

“I don’t have any say in the contract what I can or can’t do. My mood is to go in there, box, outclass, outshine and hurt my opponent no matter who it is.”


Tyson Fury

“I think it will go far,” former WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury is quoted as saying on talkSPORT.

“I think it will definitely be a change of place and working for points.”


Otto Wallin

Heavyweight contender Otto Wallin, who was stopped by Joshua, said: “I think it’s quite perilous for Jake Paul to fight Joshua because he hits so incredibly tough.

“I know it – he hits like no one I’ve ever faced.

“I don’t understand why Jake Paul is taking this fight – they certainly seriously underestimate Joshua, but I don’t think I’ll believe the fight will happen until they’re in the ring.

“He’s going to face a cruiserweight that’s not that good. It should be a straight win for Joshua and he’ll make a lot of money out of it.

“It’s a perilous sport and [Paul] he might get knocked out badly and injured in this match.

“Joshua hits unbelievably tough, harder than anyone I’ve ever known. Look what he did against Francis Ngannou, he’s bigger, stronger and better than Jake Paul.”


Aleksander Usyk

“If Anthony Joshua wants, he can kill this guy. Joshua is an Olympic champion. Jake Paul is an athlete, YouTube… showman. Rolls Royce… Fiat. Look, it’s true. It’s business, more money. That’s all.

“I will pray for Jake Paul because I want to fight him in the octagon. As a fan, I want Joshua to face [Tyson] Fury. Listen, I’ll try to assist.”


Deontay Wilder

“I only know one person who would do what Jake is doing, and that’s it,” former WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder was quoted as saying by the Daily Mail.

“And I’m talking about the weight difference. He’s about 215 years elderly [pounds] and Joshua is about 250 years elderly.

“It’s a gigantic weight difference, especially when you add Joshua’s experience to the mix. I don’t know anyone else who could handle that weight difference apart from me.

“I fight guys 20, 30, 40, 50 pounds heavier than me, you know? But I can do it. I can’t say the same about Jake Paul.”


Frank Warren

“This is a very, very essential moment for him [Paul]. He is a huge underdog and everyone will think it will be sealed. It says car accident everywhere.

“People will watch it. It’s a gigantic fight, a fight that will have a lot of viewership.

“He is [Joshua] take the money and it is a safe and sound option. I’d rather he fought Moses there [Itauma]”


Moses This is going to hurt

“Listen, I don’t hate any man who’s trying to do well. Jake Paul is smashing life. He took over YouTube, now he’s trying to take over boxing.

“Even though I don’t think it will be as straightforward as he thinks, fair play to him.

“I will support him because I like to see a man strive for success. Even though I don’t want him to beat AJ, I will support him in his success story.”


Lawrence area

“I’m not going to sit here and pretend it’s not a crazy difference in size or skill or different aspects. But you know what, crazier things have happened. We’ll see.”

“From what I heard from AJ, I don’t think he’s going to hit him with a huge right hand and end the fight in 30 seconds.

“But I think if Jake Paul starts touching him, he’ll be fine.” [Joshua knockout].

“He hasn’t been in the ring for a while, maybe he’ll apply this as practice. If Jake Paul catches him and doesn’t take him out the first time, he’s going to hit him tough and I think that’s where things will get intriguing.”

“But crazier things have happened, I don’t know.”


David Adeley

“Gigantic money. Gigantic money. What can we say? Look, if they offered you a fight with Jake Paul, would you take it?”

You’re no different than AJ. You’re just hungry. You’re trying to get into the bag and feed his family. So look, it’s good for boxing. Everyone will watch it.

“It’s going to be intriguing. Look, I’m a fan of this sport. When something happens, sometimes I sit and watch.

“It’s witty that we go back years. Muhammad Ali was doing exhibitions when no one was doing exhibitions. Of course AJ is doing his thing now. Tyson Fury did his [Francis] Ngannou, AJ jumped on the bandwagon and now AJ is doing it.”


Tony Bellew

“[Paul] he’s sparring with Lawrence Okolie and he’s sparring with a lot of other heavyweights that are in his camp,” Tony Bellew told the Froch On Fighting podcast. “And I just think, OK, that’s great. With 16-ounce gloves, maybe 20-ounce gloves and head guards…

“He will never feel anything like this when [Joshua] touches it for the first time with 10 oz gloves and believe me, he is in for a rude awakening.”


Callum Simpson

“I think it’s going to be an straightforward night for AJ, but I don’t think it’s going to be as straightforward as a lot of people think in terms of how quickly he’s going to knock him out, because as a boxer you see all the time, even when there are journeymen, if you can get inbox, if you want to come out in the back and survive, it can be very complex to knock someone out.

“So it depends on what Jake wants to do. If Jake actually wants to come in and get into a fight, he gets knocked out. But if he has to survive, I think he can handle it better.”

And I think that might surprise people, not that I think he’ll win, but I think Joshua might not look as good as everyone expects.

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Usyk Analyzes Anthony Joshuas Performance Against Kristian Prenga After Overcoming Two Knockdowns

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"Usyk Analyzes Anthony Joshua's Performance Against Kristian Prenga After Overcoming Two Knockdowns"

Oleksandr Usyk has shared his reaction to Anthony Joshua‘s dramatic knockout victory against Kristian Prenga.

Usyk nearly suffered his own shock defeat in May when he was pushed to the limit by kickboxing star Rico Verhoevenand two months on it was nrw teammate Joshua’s turn to come close to a massive upset loss that would have stunned the heavyweight division.

The Brit was dropped twice by massive underdog Prenga in the opening round of their clash in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on Saturday, but ‘AJ’ managed to recover and record a big knockdown of his own in the second round that resulted in the stoppage victory.

Joshua and Usyk now train together, having famously had two battles for the unified world heavyweight title in 2021 and 2022, and the Ukrainian has had his say on his stablemate’s victory over Prenga.

Speaking to TalkSporttwo-time undisputed champion Usyk praised Joshua, insisting ‘AJ is back’ before predicting that Joshua will now claim a knockout win over long-term rival Tyson Fury in his next bout.

“Anthony Joshua is next undisputed champion. First round it’s a test but AJ is back.

It’s boxing, [the] big upper cut is good, it’s a knockdown. AJ [come] back and win.

“Greedy Belly [Fury] will speak now and say weak chin, Greedy Belly get out. AJ wins [against Fury], [he will] knock him out.”

Fury was victorious on Friday as he earned a seventh round retirement win against Mariusz Wach in Thailand, paving the way for the showdown against Joshua later this year.

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Jake Paul Reacts to Anthony Joshuas Stunning Victory Over Kristian Prenga After Two Early Knockdowns

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"Jake Paul Reacts to Anthony Joshua's Stunning Victory Over Kristian Prenga After Two Early Knockdowns"

Jake Paul was the last man to fight Anthony Joshua and he has now revealed his verdict on AJ’s chaotic victory over Kristian Prenga.

Joshua went up against Prenga in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on Saturdayin a clash that was expected to be a comfortable win for the former world heavyweight champion in order to set up the long overdue battle against Tyson Fury.

Any hopes of seeing that clash were nearly ended after AJ was dropped twice in the opening round of the bout, though he was able to recover and claim the second round knockout to come out on top and prevent a stunning shock upset from taking place.

Saturday’s outing saw Joshua back in the ring for the first time since his sixth round triumph over YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul back in Decemberand now ‘The Problem Child’ himself has shared his reaction to his former rival’s victory over Prenga.

Posting on social mediaPaul praised AJ for earning the win, after returning to action following the tragic car crash he was involved in at the end of last year which took the lives of his two close friends.

“Happy for Joshua with that win after all he’s been through. Remembering Sina and Latz with this one.”

The win for Joshua should now tee up for meeting with Fury later this year, after ‘The Gypsy King’ held up his end of the bargain by also securing a win in his warm-up bout on Friday, securing a seventh round retirement win against Mariusz Wach.

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Tony Bellew Reviews Anthony Joshuas Comeback Victory Over Kristian Prenga After Knockdown Drama

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Tony Bellew Reviews Anthony Joshua's Comeback Victory Over Kristian Prenga After Knockdown Drama

Anthony Joshua may have earned a knockout win over Kristian Prenga but the fight certainly didn’t unfold as most people expected.

Joshua was facing the Albanian in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on Saturday, and it looked like a massive upset could be on the cards when he was dropped twice in the opening round.

‘AJ’ was able to recover and went on to secure a second round knockout victory to prevent the shock lossseemingly paving the way for the battle against Tyson Fury later this year.

One man who was ringside to witness the battle was former cruiserweight world champion Tony Bellewand he praised Joshua’s ability to turn things around in the fight after describing it as ‘chaos’.

“We predicted round two but I don’t think we foresaw that. That was chaos. He doesn’t see the uppercut coming and finds himself on the floor without knowing how he got there.

“The second one he did see it coming and he was able to clench down on the jaw. He got up and then the experience that he has he used tonight because he tied him up. Against Andy Ruiz he didn’t know what he was doing and didn’t know how to do that, but tonight he did.

“He showed once again there is no quit. To be that hurt in the first round and get up, that’s the recoveries of power. People talk about your chin, but it’s not, it’s the level of fitness that gets you up from the floor.

“When Joshua gets a fighter hurt he’s the best finisher in the division. Whenever he hurts someone they’re gone. I haven’t seen him drop anybody and they survive, only Andy Ruiz. He’s a ruthless finisher.”

The clash between Joshua and Fury is now expected to be announced soon for later this year, after Fury won his own interim fight on Friday by defeating Mariusz Wach.

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