Boxing
Paul vs. Joshua: Everything you need to know about the boxing match
Published
6 months agoon
Jake Paul will make a huge step up in competition when he faces former two-time heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua on December 19 at the Kaseya Center in Miami (Netflix). This is a drastic change of gear after Paul was originally scheduled to face WBA lightweight champion Gervonta “Tank” Davis in an exhibition fight at the 195-pound catchweight division last Friday. However, Paul’s fight with Davis was canceled on November 3 following a lawsuit filed against Davis by his ex-girlfriend, accusing him of battery, aggravated battery, false imprisonment, kidnapping and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Paul will face Joshua, an opponent 100 pounds heavier than Davis, in a professionally sanctioned heavyweight boxing match. Unlike his exhibition fight against Davis, Paul won’t have a size advantage to make up for the skill gap. Joshua fights at around 250 pounds, while Paul fights in the cruiserweight limit of 200 pounds. Paul wanted to shock the world and pull off what could be one of the biggest upsets in boxing history.
But how did we get here and what does it all mean?
Why does Paul fight with Joshua?
After Paul’s exhibition with Davis was canceled, the YouTuber-turned-boxer did everything he could to compete before the end of 2025. According to Most Valuable Promotions, Paul’s promotional team, there were talks with several potential opponents before landing Joshua.
Earlier this year, Paul expressed interest in fighting Joshua and included him on his revised hit list, which he recently shared with ESPN. However, the original schedule for the Joshua fight had the two meeting sometime in 2026, after the Davis fight. Paul quickly turned his attention to Joshua, who was sidelined after elbow surgery in June, and the two sides reached an agreement.
Joshua’s promoter, Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Boxing, told ESPN that Joshua wants to fight one fight in behind schedule 2025 and then plans to fight fellow British heavyweight Tyson Fury in 2026.
Is this an exhibition fight?
NO. The Paul vs. Joshua fight will be a sanctioned heavyweight bout scheduled for eight three-minute rounds. Fighters will also wear 10-ounce gloves, which are standard in heavyweight bouts.
Paul is much closer in weight to Joshua, but now he will have to deal with both the size and skill difference. Joshua – a former Olympic gold medalist and two-time heavyweight champion – weighed from 254 pounds to just 229 pounds during his professional career. Paul’s highest weight during his November 2024 exhibition against former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson was 227¼ pounds. Paul weighed in at 199.4 pounds in his last fight and won against Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. in June.
Why would Paul want to fight Joshua now?
Stupidity with a hint of delusional self-confidence?
Say what you will about Paul, but he persistently challenges himself even though he is still considered a novice in boxing. Paul faced criticism for his choice of opponents. His career has included MMA fighters, YouTubers, a former NBA dunk champion, boxing journeymen, and a retired heavyweight. In his last fight, Paul fought Chavez, a former middleweight champion who was the closest thing to a “real” boxer, and dominated a fighter whose best days were long behind him.
The last time Joshua was in the ring with a boxing novice, he knocked out former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou in two rounds in March 2024.
Still, Paul wants to test himself and we’ll see what condition he’ll be in when he steps into the ring with Joshua.
Why would Joshua fight Jake Paul?
Why wouldn’t he do it? It’s a low-risk, high-reward fight, played on a massive stage and streamed worldwide on Netflix. Joshua has faced some of the best heavyweights of his generation and has already been eyeing a fight before the end of 2025. As one of the biggest stars in British boxing history, this fight will also raise his profile in the United States, where he has not fought since his disastrous knockout defeat to Andy Ruiz Jr. at Novel York’s Madison Square Garden in 2019.
The only market Joshua hasn’t cornered is the United States, and facing someone with Paul’s reach will certainly support if he faces Fury in 2026.
How will this affect Joshua’s career?
2:46
Hearn: Only Turki Al-Sheikh can beat Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury
Eddie Hearn talks about a potential fight between Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury.
If Joshua does what most think he will do and defeats Paul definitively, his plans for a mega fight with Fury will remain intact. Fury is retired but could be persuaded to return to fight Joshua.
We saw what Joshua did to Ngannou five months after the latter almost pulled off a massive upset in a split decision loss to Fury. It’s unlikely that Joshua will be interested in taking Paul to a thrilling fight. However, with each round Paul survives, Joshua’s stock could take a hit. And if the fight is in any way close, there will be questions about Joshua’s current place in boxing. The last time in the ring in September 2024, he was stopped in five rounds by Daniel Dubois. This can be forgiven given Dubois’s track record in boxing. Competing with the less experienced and smaller Paul did not bode well for his future.
How will this affect Paul’s career?
This is an fascinating question because a highly decorated, hard-hitting heavyweight is expected to categorically beat Paul, and the chances of an upset are high for Paul. This is a fight that Paul should lose and therefore the idea of getting into the ring and surviving could give him a moral victory as long as he is not brutally knocked out early in the fight.
If Paul can somehow find a way to make himself competitive, it will only support enhance his boxing stock. He has already proven that defeat will not completely ruin his career and his massive presence on social media will allow him to lick his wounds and come back, if not more marketable, after gaining the respect of the boxing community that criticized his boxing career.
This is a no-lose situation for Paul as at this point in his career he should never have had the opportunity to step into the ring with the former heavyweight champion. Any time spent on your feet will be a victory. However, if it lands on the wrong end of a knockout in the most critical moments, it will go viral for all the wrong reasons.
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Boxing
Frank Sanchez knocks out Richard Torrez Jr in two rounds
Published
16 minutes agoon
May 23, 2026
Heavyweight fighters only need one spotless counter to end the fight. Sanchez waited for his shot and didn’t miss.
Sanchez controlled the distance early with his jab, which forced Torrez to get to the offense instead of moving in behind balanced combinations. He moved forward, tried to quickly close the distance and tried to force an exchange of words. Sanchez never looked rushed. He stayed behind the jab, kept his feet under him and gave Torrez different looks as he boxed from distance.
The opening round moved at a steady pace. Torrez was the busier player coming forward to attack, but Sanchez looked at ease, taking petite steps back and setting up counters. He read the entries.
It ended up being the second one.
Torrez came back into action, looking to attack, and Sanchez fired a right hand straight into the hole. The shot landed on target and dropped Torrez tough to the canvas. He tried to rally and defeat the count, but his legs gave the answer before he could.
Torrez’s pressing style keeps him upright when he comes in aggressively, and Sanchez timed the opening perfectly.
The referee stepped in immediately.
Sanchez entered the fight needing a statement after a knockout loss to Agit Kabayel stalled his progress. He returned earlier this year against lower-level opponents, but the question remained where he stood among the better heavyweights.
The victory brings Sanchez closer to another title shot. Torrez suffers the first defeat of his professional career after facing a heavyweight who remained disciplined and fired before the fight could fully develop.
Boxing
Canelo responds to David Benavidez by offering him a featherlight heavyweight title fight
Published
2 hours agoon
May 23, 2026
Canelo Alvarez has commented on David Benavidez’s recent call for a clash between the two teams.
Canelo and Benavidez have been linked to a fight for many years, dating back to when they both competed at super middleweight.
While Canelo remains one of the key fighters at 168 pounds, Benavidez has since moved up the rankings, becoming the WBC featherlight heavyweight champion for the first time claiming he defeated Gilberto Ramirez earlier this month win the WBA and WBO cruiserweight titles.
Following this victory, Benavidez was linked to fights with the likes of Dmitry Bivol and Jai Opetaia, but he once again made it clear that he would offer Canelo a chance to win the WBC 175-pound belt.
Canelo has now responded by revealing in a media interview with Boxing News that he’s not surprised that Benavidez challenged him again, but he doubts that “The Mexican Monster” will still be able to make the featherlight heavyweight limit after moving up to cruiserweight.
“Every boxer in any category challenges me. It’s nothing modern for me. He did well in the fight [against Ramirez]. I’m not surprised [he called me out]but I don’t think he can get to 175 pounds anymore. It’s not my problem.
Canelo has already competed at 175 pounds twice, but for now a move to featherlight heavyweight seems unlikely given his current world title shot against WBC super middleweight champion Christian Mbilli in Riyad, Saudi Arabia on September 12.
Boxing
Mayweather Legal Case: $175 Million Fraud Suit, Child Support Order
Published
4 hours agoon
May 23, 2026
Floyd Mayweather Jr. he spent Friday on both sides of the dock. The retired, undefeated former champion filed a lawsuit accusing former associates of defrauding him of at least $175 million, the same day reports surfaced that a Nevada judge had ordered him to pay more than $1 million in child support. These developments include the $340 million lawsuit Mayweather filed against Showtime in February and a number of smaller claims against him over the past few months.
$175 million fraud case
According to court documents obtained by TMZ SportsMayweather maintains that Jona Rechnitz, a former close associate, spent years gaining his trust before becoming his de facto financial manager, real estate broker and banking broker. The complaint named Rechnitz, Ayala Frist, Frist Apex Ventures and attorney Alexander Seligson, accusing the group of orchestrating a multi-year scheme that allegedly depleted Mayweather’s accounts through fraudulent investments, unauthorized wire transfers and undisclosed business entities.
Among the claims, Mayweather alleges that approximately $100 million worth of jewelry was transferred to Miami jewelers in exchange for approximately $13 million, with most of it still held by dealers; that he committed $7.5 million to an investment that never came to fruition; and that $15 million related to the real estate settlement was transferred without his consent. The filing also alleges that he unknowingly signed documents transferring ownership of his Gulfstream jet, leaving the buyer’s section blank, and that he did not know where the proceeds went. The allegations have not been tested in court and the named parties have not publicly responded as of the filing date of the lawsuit.
Maintenance order
Separately, a Nevada judge found Mayweather, 49, to be the legal father of a 4-year-old girl, Price Moorehead, and ordered him to pay $32,850 a month in continuing support and $933,050 in back payments, he claims. documents reported by Complex and originally obtained by TMZ Sports. The paternity ruling was made in March 2026. The case began in 2023, when Paige Moorehead, who, according to the documents, worked at the Mayweather’s Girl Collection club in Las Vegas, filed a paternity petition. The court granted a default judgment after Mayweather failed to comply with an order to submit to DNA testing. Data cited in the report shows that about $151,000 has been paid toward the remaining amount, and a judge has granted a lien on California properties linked to Mayweather of up to $2 million to secure payment.
Showtime Suit
The novel filings are the culmination of a $340 million lawsuit Mayweather filed in February against Showtime Networks and former Showtime Sports president Stephen Espinoza in Los Angeles County Superior Court. That complaint alleges that Mayweather’s former manager and advisor, Al Haymon, orchestrated a long-running financial fraud scheme involving the network and Espinoza, citing four causes of action, including aiding and abetting breach of fiduciary duty and civil conspiracy to commit fraud. In the complaint, Haymon was described as the architect of the alleged scheme but was not named as a defendant. Espinoza said he was surprised by the lawsuit and defended his records, while a spokesman for Showtime’s parent company, Paramount, called the claims baseless. Details of this report were described in a previous report by Boxing Insider.
The bigger financial picture
The proceedings are ongoing alongside a number of separate claims against Mayweather. He faced a $7.3 million IRS tax lien, lawsuits from two Miami jewelers over unpaid bills, a dispute over more than $300,000 in unpaid rent for a Manhattan apartment and a claim for private jet services. Mayweather, who retired in 2017 with a 50-0 record, remains lively in the exhibition ring and has been linked with a rematch with Manny Pacquiao scheduled for September in Las Vegas.
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