STOCKTON, Calif. – Eddie Hearn believes if Jake Paul is lucky against Anthony Joshua, he won’t get knocked out too badly.
Paul will face the former unified heavyweight titleholder Joshua on Friday night at the Kaseya Center in Miami.
Paul, 12-1 (7 KOs), was originally set to face Gervonta Davis in November. The bout was called off, leading to a heavyweight bout against Joshua. Hearn, who promotes Joshua, 28-4 (25 KOs), shared his thoughts.
“[Jake Paul] is a decent fighter, but he is not a world-class heavyweight,” Hearn said. “The only thing that can happen is he gets lucky. When I say get lucky, I mean get knocked out, but not too badly.
“Now if he gets hit clean, then it ain’t going to be pretty.”
Paul, a 28-year-old originally from Cleveland, Ohio, but now residing in Dorado, Puerto Rico, will fight as a heavyweight for the second time as a professional. Last November, he fought a 58-year-old Mike Tyson, winning a six-round unanimous decision. In May, Paul fought Julio Cesar Chavez Jnr, winning a 10-round unanimous decision in a cruiserweight bout.
“I think he genuinely thinks he can win the fight,” Hearn said. “Obviously, he is making a lot of money in the process, but good luck to him; you have to respect it.”
Joshua, the 36-year-old from London, England, will be returning to the ring for the first time in 2025. It will also be his first time since his knockout loss to Daniel Dubois in September 2024.
“He didn’t have to fight Anthony Joshua,” Hearn said. “He is mad…unfortunately, [Paul is] going to learn a lot about the game next Friday.”
