STAR BOXING PREVIEW: Jake Paul v Anthony Joshua

In a match-up between a former world champion and a former Disney star – never a sentence anyone thought would be said – Anthony Joshua faces Jake Paul in Miami this weekend, writes JOE CITRONE.

I wrote more in-depth about this in a previous POV column for Star Sports, but this is obviously absurd. However, for all the conversation about whether this fight would actually happen, with only a matter of hours to go at the time of writing…it looks like it is. This is really happening.

I think it would be fair to say that Paul has not had a particularly conventional route into boxing, fighting fellow YouTuber Deji – brother of KSI – in his first-ever white-collar bout in August 2018 before going on to make his professional debut in 2020.

Prior to that, he was known for being the star of a Disney show called Bizaardvark, and having a social media career that has threw up its fair share of controversy over the years.

In recent years, his fights have mainly consisted of UFC fighters, such as Tyron Woodley and Nate Diaz, before then contesting fights against more conventional opponents like Tommy Fury, which he lost via decision, and then Julio Cesar Chavez Jr, where he came out on top.

Oh yeah, and he also fought Mike Tyson. Yes, the actual 59-year-old Mike Tyson.

In fairness to Paul, he has, albeit in a slightly bizarre way, managed to build himself a successful, headline-grabbing career, which has led him to the point where he is entering a ring with a man that, as recently as 2022, was heavyweight champion of the world. It’s like if Rocky was an ex-Vine star, I guess.

TALE OF THE TAPE

JAKE PAUL
Country – 🇺🇸
Age – 28
Height – 6’1″
Reach – 76″
Stance – Orthodox
Record – 12-1 (7 KOs)

ANTHONY JOSHUA
Country – 🇬🇧
Age – 36
Height – 6’6″
Reach – 82″
Stance – Orthodox
Record – 28-4 (25 KOs)

⭐ STARSPORTS.BET PAUL v JOSHUA SPECIALS ⭐

Joshua looks to be cashing out on the sport, and you can’t really blame him at this point. He probably realises his best days are behind him and retirement isn’t too far away, and so wants to make as much money as he can before he hangs up the gloves. You got that impression when he took the fight with ex-UFC star Francis Ngannou in 2024.

That said, he will be aware that anything other than a dominant destruction of Paul in Miami will be deeply embarrassing, not just for him personally, but also for the sport of boxing. There is actually a lot on the line here, in a weird way.

I can’t possibly see this being any issue for him whatsoever, though. Paul is perhaps a little better than many give him credit for; he has clearly worked hard and taken the sport pretty seriously in the gym, but he’s clearly no match for Joshua in this life or the next.

Even purely from a size perspective, it’s a complete mismatch, with Joshua towering over Paul in the pre-fight face-offs.

For me, it’s really just a question of how long Joshua is prepared to carry Paul here. I have a feeling he might be prepared to give him until round two until he starts to unleash all of his power and experience on Paul, and it could get brutal from there. At 10/3 with starsports.bet, I am backing Joshua to get the KO in the second round.

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PROFIT/LOSS (DEC 2025): +10.96 points

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