Boxing

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

Published

8 months ago

December 16, 2025

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.

Boxing

Robert Garcia Evaluates Terence Crawfords Odds Against Prime Pacquiao

Published

7 hours ago

August 15, 2026

The Punch Junkie™ News

"Robert Garcia Evaluates Terence Crawford's Odds Against Prime Pacquiao"

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.

Boxing

Zuffa Boxing Parts Ways with Former World Champion After First Loss

Published

7 hours ago

August 15, 2026

The Punch Junkie™ News

"Zuffa Boxing Parts Ways with Former World Champion After First Loss"

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.

Boxing

David Price Analyzes Conor Benns Chances Against Ryan Garcia for World Championship Glory

Published

1 day ago

August 14, 2026

The Punch Junkie™ News

David Price Analyzes Conor Benn's Chances Against Ryan Garcia for World Championship Glory

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.