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Jake Paul fights former heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua on December 19

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8 months ago

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YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul will face former two-time unified heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua in a professional heavyweight boxing match on December 19 at the Kaseya Center in Miami, ESPN Most Valuable Promotions reported on Monday.

The fight – which will be streamed live on Netflix – is scheduled for eight 3-minute rounds, and fighters will wear 10-ounce gloves, which is standard in heavyweight fights.

It’s a turnaround for 27-year-old Paul, who was originally scheduled to face WBA lightweight champion Gervonta “Tank” Davis in an exhibition fight on November 14. However, the fight was canceled after Davis was named in a civil lawsuit filed by an ex-girlfriend accusing the boxer of aggravated battery, false imprisonment, kidnapping and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Instead of facing a hard-hitting professional boxer who fought at 130 pounds, Paul will now face a two-time heavyweight champion and Olympic gold medalist in a sanctioned professional boxing match who fought up to 256 pounds, more than 100 pounds heavier than Davis. Paul campaigned primarily as a cruiserweight with a 200-pound weight limit, although he weighed 227.25 pounds ahead of his 2024 heavyweight exhibition fight against Mike Tyson.

“This is not an AI simulation. This is Judgment Day,” Paul said in a statement. “A professional heavyweight fight against an elite world champion in his prime. Once I defeat Anthony Joshua, all doubt disappears and no one can deny me the chance to fight for the world title. To all my haters, this is what you wanted. I apologize to the people of the UK. On Friday December 19, under the lights in Miami, live worldwide only on Netflix, the torch will be passed and the British Goliath will be put to sleep.”

Paul (12-1, 7 KO) is still novel to the sport with no significant amateur experience and has only boxed 70 rounds as a professional as of 2020. He will take a huge step up from MMA fighters and boxing journeymen to face Joshua (28-4, 25 KO), one of the hardest-hitting and most decorated heavyweights in the world who has amassed over 160 rounds of boxing over his 12-year career. professional.

“Jake or anyone else can get this job. There is no mercy,” Joshua, 36, said in a statement. “I’ve had some time and I’m coming back from a mega show. This is a great opportunity for me. Whether you like it or not, I’m here to make huge numbers, fight gigantic fights and break every record while remaining peaceful, peaceful and collected. Mark my words, you will see many more fighters take advantage of these opportunities in the future. I’m about to break the internet in front of Jake Paul’s face.”

In his last appearance in September 2024, Joshua was stopped in the fifth round of his IBF title fight against Daniel Dubois. After the defeat, he opted for elbow surgery and has been sidelined ever since. Eddie Hearn, Joshua’s promoter at Matchroom Boxing, told ESPN earlier this year that his protege would fight once in 2025 and then target a massive, all-British heavyweight fight against the now-retired Tyson Fury. However, few expected that the only fight in 2025 would be against Paul.

“Everyone laughed when Jake Paul said in March that he wanted to fight AJ in 2026,” said Nakisa Bidarian, CEO of Most Valuable Promotions. “Well, plans have changed and in less than two weeks MVP and Netflix have had one of the greatest fights of all time. Now, as only Jake Paul could and would do, he is fighting one of the most feared boxers in the world. Joshua has every advantage in this fight except one – Jake Paul’s delusional confidence and if anyone can shock the world, it’s him. This is a global clash between two of the most recognizable figures in the sport, Jake, the face of a novel era of boxing, and Joshua, the king of British boxing. boxing.”

Joshua was Paul’s target for a 2026 fight. However, these plans were accelerated due to the cancellation of the Davis fight. Most Valuable Promotions told ESPN that Paul will fight before the end of the year following Davis’ cancellation, but he needs to find an opponent quickly.

Last week, The Ring was the first to report that the two sides were in negotiations, and now Paul faces the toughest test of his newborn career in which few expect him to be even remotely competitive.

“They say be careful what you wish for, I feel like that’s all I have to say,” Hearn said. “Two of the biggest names in sports will collide on December 19. While I admire Jake’s balls, he’ll find out the firm way in Miami.”

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Boxing

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

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24 hours ago

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July 25, 2026

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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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Boxing

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

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1 day ago

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July 25, 2026

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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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Boxing

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

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1 day ago

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July 25, 2026

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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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