YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul will face former two-time unified heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua in an expert heavyweight boxing match on December 19 at Kaseya Heart in Miami, Most Invaluable Promotions informed ESPN on Monday.
The battle — which will likely be streamed stay on Netflix — is scheduled for eight, 3-minute rounds and the fighters will put on 10-ounce gloves, the usual for heavyweight fights.
It is an about face for Paul, 27, who was initially slated to tackle WBA light-weight champion Gervonta “Tank” Davis in an exhibition battle on November 14. Nevertheless, the bout 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 misery.
As a substitute of an exhibition in opposition to a hard-hitting professional boxer who campaigned at 130 kilos, Paul will now face a two-time heavyweight champion and Olympic gold medalist in a sanctioned skilled boxing match who has fought as excessive as 256 kilos, over 100 kilos heavier than Davis. Paul has campaigned primarily as a cruiserweight with a 200-pound weight restrict, though he weighed 227.25 kilos for his heavyweight exhibition battle with Mike Tyson in 2024.
“This is not an AI simulation. That is Judgment Day,” Paul stated in a press release. “Knowledgeable heavyweight battle in opposition to an elite world champion in his prime. After I beat Anthony Joshua, each doubt disappears, and nobody can deny me the chance to battle for a world title. To all my haters, that is what you needed. To the folks of the UK, I’m sorry. On Friday, December 19, beneath the lights in Miami, stay globally solely on Netflix, the torch will get handed and Britain’s Goliath will get put to sleep.”
Paul (12-1, 7 KOs) remains to be a novice within the sport with no notable beginner expertise and solely 70 whole rounds boxed as a professional since 2020. He’ll take a large step up from MMA fighters and journeyman boxers to face Joshua (28-4, 25 KOs), one of many hardest hitting and most embellished heavyweights and on the planet with over 160 rounds boxed in his 12 years as an expert.
“Jake or anybody can get this work. No mercy,” Joshua, 36, stated in a press release. “I took a while out and I am coming again with a mega present. It is a huge alternative for me. Whether or not you prefer it or not, I am right here to do huge numbers, have huge fights and break each document while retaining cool, calm and picked up. Mark my phrases, you may see much more fighters take these alternatives sooner or later. I am about to interrupt the web over Jake Paul’s face.”
In his final outing in September 2024, Joshua was stopped within the fifth spherical of his IBF title battle in opposition to Daniel Dubois. He elected to have elbow surgical procedure following the loss and had been sidelined since. Eddie Hearn, Joshua’s promoter at Matchroom Boxing, informed ESPN earlier this 12 months that his cost would battle as soon as in 2025 earlier than concentrating on a large all-British heavyweight battle with the at present retired Tyson Fury. Nevertheless, few anticipated the one battle in 2025 can be in opposition to Paul.
“Everybody laughed when Jake Paul stated in March that he needed to battle AJ in 2026,” stated Nakisa Bidarian, CEO of Most Invaluable Promotions. “Nicely, plans modified, and in beneath two weeks, MVP and Netflix have made one of many greatest fights of all time. Now, as solely Jake Paul might and would do, he is preventing one of the fearsome boxers on the planet. Joshua has each benefit on this battle, besides one — the delusional confidence of Jake Paul, and if anybody can shock the world, it is him. This can be a international conflict between two of probably the most recognizable figures within the sport, Jake, the face of boxing’s new period, and Joshua, the King of UK boxing.”
Joshua had been focused by Paul for a battle in 2026. Nevertheless, these plans had been expedited following the cancelation of the Davis battle. Most Invaluable Promotions informed ESPN that Paul would battle earlier than the tip of the 12 months following the Davis cancelation however wanted to shortly discover an opponent.
The Ring was the primary to report final week that the 2 sides had been negotiating and now Paul will get the hardest check of his younger profession that only a few count on him to be remotely aggressive in.
“They are saying watch out what you would like for, sort of really feel like that is all I have to say,” Hearn stated. “Two of the most important names within the sport will collide on Dec 19. While I love Jake’s balls, he will discover out the exhausting method in Miami.”