Every move made by Jake Paul in his adult life always come with the intention to push the boundaries.
It began with his rapid ascension from “Disney kid” to becoming one of the most popular (or perhaps infamous) social media influencers in the world. That level of notoriety has translated well in his boxing career, both as a fighter and especially in his continued role of leveling the playing field for women in boxing.
It’s that mentality that led to his decision to challenge Anthony Joshua, once he was forced to cancel his planned November 14 exhibition with Gervonta “Tank” Davis. Paul, 12-1 (7 KO) – a career-long cruiserweight since his 2020 pro debut – went from taking on a current 135lbs titlist to facing a two-time unified heavyweight titlist and Olympic gold medalist who boasts a massive size advantage.
“He's one of the best heavyweights ever,” Paul acknowledged of the hulking and still heavy-handed Brit. “But I believe that fighting a smaller man is oftentimes harder as a heavyweight because of the speed difference and because of the foot speed, because of the angles, because of the head being off of the center.
“So, when I'm bouncing around the ring, jabbing, weaving, and doing all of these things, I know I can pick him apart and score points and make this a very, very big contest. People say, “Oh, I respect Jake Paul for getting in there.” No, respect me because I'm about to win.”
Paul-Joshua tops a highly anticipated Netflix event on December 19 from Kaseya Center, home to the NBA’s Miami Heat.
Few if any give Paul a chance to beat even this version of Joshua, 28-4 (25 KOs) – inactive since a brutal knockout defeat to Daniel Dubois last September and who took this fight on less than six weeks’ notice. The size advantage and overall accolades are too much to overlook, many believe.
Paul has hardly winged it, though, in preparing for by far the biggest challenge of his boxing lifetime. He has sparred with the likes of Frank Sanchez, Jared Anderson and former cruiserweight titlist Lawrence Okolie, even surviving a black eye during camp if we are to fully believe everything that we see on his social media feed.
The clash with Joshua will be the second ring appearance of the year for Paul, who outpointed badly faded, former 160lbs titlist Julio Cesar Chavez Jnr over eight rounds on June 28 in Anaheim, California. It was his first sanctioned fight since last July, with a high-profile exhibition versus 58-year-old Mike Tyson from last November wedged in between those official bouts.
Paul’s other notable career bouts have come against recognized names, but none who were meant to beat him in a sanctioned boxing match. Nate Diaz, Mike Perry, Anderson Silva, Tyron Woodley (twice) and Ben Askren all enjoyed their best moments in the cage as mixed martial arts combatants.
Former NBA player Nate Robinson never previously fought prior to his viral November 2020 knockout defeat to Paul. Nor did fellow influencer An Eson Gib, whom Paul knocked out in the 1st round of his January 2020 pro debut.
Even in his lone career defeat – an eight-round, split decision to Tommy Fury – Paul managed to remain upright and competitive throughout their February 2023 affair in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia. In fact, it was Fury who was down in the 8th and final round.
“I've never been knocked down or knocked out, even in sparring,” Paul reminded the world. “But, I'm in a sport where that happens. This is not a one-sided fight as people think. And I have power, I have the ability to put people to sleep. That's why I took this challenge - and I know it's crazy and all of that, but I'm excited. I'm genuinely excited.
“My team's excited and everyone believes in me, and that's all that matters. All of that power [that Joshua has] is great, and he's knocked people out. I just have to avoid that one shot for eight rounds, and I believe that I can do that.”
