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Former unified world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua will tonight take on YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul in a controversial fight on Netflix.
The bout has sparked widespread debate, with critics raising safety concerns over the significant experience and size gap between Joshua (28-4) and the comparatively inexperienced Paul (12-1).
Joshua, 36, was brutally stopped by compatriot Daniel Dubois in his most recent fight in September 2024, failing in his attempt to become a three-time champion. Paul, 28, outpointed Mike Tyson and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. in his most recent contests.
The official weigh-in took place on Thursday morning at the Fontainebleau hotel. It was an understated affair with the media in attendance but with no fans watching.
The ceremonial weigh-ins happened much later at the Fillmore Miami Beach and it was a predictably raucous affair.
Anthony Joshua angrily pushed Jake Paul’s fist away from his face and told him “don’t touch me” as the pair faced off, before then making a throat-slitting gesture.
But, later that evening, Joshua attempted to play down the confrontation. He said the pair had a “mutual respect” for one another and insisted all he told Paul at the weigh-ins was “not to touch me”.
This is the heaviest Jake Paul has ever weighed. Which is unsurprising considering he has spent much of his boxing career operating at cruiserweight.
He is 3lb heavier than for his fight against Mike Tyson last year, which he won on points.
But he is nevertheless almost two stone lighter than Anthony Joshua and the significant weight discrepancy has been a major talking point before today’s fight.
This is the lightest Anthony Joshua has been for a fight since he dropped to 17st 2lb (109kg) for his first heavyweight title fight against Oleksandr Usyk back in September 2021.
“I don’t really watch my weight. I don’t know why there is a big thing about weight. Maybe because we are heavyweights so people look at us at our heaviest,” Joshua said at the time. He lost that fight on points.
The penultimate event on the fight week calendar was yesterday, when both Anthony Joshua and Jake Paul weighed-in ahead of their bout.
Heavyweights do not usually have to make weight, but two-time world champion Joshua was contractually required to come in under 17st 7lb (111kg).
He tipped the scales at 17st 5lb (110kg), with Paul weighing 15st 7lb (98kg).
There was also some fun beef at the presser between Caroline Dubois and Alycia Baumgardner, who fight on tonight’s undercard. Baumgardner takes on Leila Beaudoin while Dubois is in action against Camila Panatta. We’ll have more on all of this evening’s undercard fights shortly.
💬 Dubois said: “I'm hearing a lot of talk about Alycia being the face of women’s boxing and the best woman boxer and I disagree with that 100%. I think it's awesome that we’re both on the same card and you’ll be able to make up your own mind about who's the best.”
Baumgardner responded by talking about puppies saying they have to be trained and you have to take your time and “let the big dogs do what the big dogs do. Welcome to the team baby.”
This week marks the first time Anthony Joshua has fought in the U.S. since his devastating loss to Andy Ruiz in June 2019 — a fight the Brit was a massive favorite to win. Joshua described that experience as “a tragedy.” But he also said his career has shown him that tragedy can lead to positive things. On Wednesday he listed off setbacks he has overcome, including getting arrested ahead of the 2012 Olympics before winning a gold medal, losing his world titles to Ruiz before winning them back to become a two-time heavyweight champion of the world, and losing to Daniel Dubois last year before gaining this opportunity to headline on Netflix.
💬 “If you’re in sports, you may take some losses, but the goal is to bounce back,” Joshua said. “… Through tragedy, there can always be a great story, so this is my story, and this is just part of what my life is. There’s positives with the loss, and it’s a great opportunity to showcase my talent and skills once again.”
Wednesday’s news conference started with host Ariel Helwani describing Friday’s bout at Kaseya Center as “one of the most talked-about and biggest fights of 2025” before going on to say that tickets were still available “for as cheap as 50 bucks.” Given the sparsely occupied seats inside the Fillmore (the news conference was open to the public and free), that is perhaps not surprising.
Anthony Joshua also said on Wednesday that he feels he is “carrying boxing” on his back in this fight and being asked to “save the pugilists, save the purists.”
But when asked whether he feels this is a fight pitching “old guard against new guard,” with Joshua representing the whole of boxing, Jake Paul argued he has “done more for the sport of boxing in the past decade” than anyone and that “if people really cared about boxing, they’d want me to win.”
“I see the angle they’re coming from — he’s the traditional boxer, he’s been doing this his whole life, et cetera,” Paul said. “But I think that I’m more important for the sport of boxing.”
Toby B: “Tyson Fury is spot on. Anthony Joshua talking about ‘killing’ a YouTuber is embarrassing.”
Jake T: “When did Joshua become so unlikeable?”
Jack D: “To see the sport of boxing come to this… Embarrassing for all concerned, bar the two ‘boxers’ who put on a WWE show for the fools who watch it.”
Remember, you can get involved too by emailing your thoughts to live@theathletic.com.
Facing criticism from the boxing world, Anthony Joshua took the chance during Wednesday’s pre-fight press conference to double down on comments from earlier this week that he was willing to kill an opponent in the ring if necessary.
💬 “It’s my job — we fight, we have a license to kill,” Joshua said during a news conference at The Fillmore Miami Beach promoting his heavyweight bout with Jake Paul on Friday night. “I’m sure many people don’t understand, but this is what my job is, and I just enjoy what I do. Whatever happens, happens.”
When asked about Tyson Fury’s criticism, Joshua responded: “That’s just the mentality we have to have. I don’t know if any other fighter thinks that way. Maybe they’re a bit more tame. But when you’re in that ring, it’s a dangerous place to be, and anything can happen. You hope your opponent leaves the ring safely, but if they don’t, you still have to go to bed and know you’ve just done your job as a person.”
Anthony Joshua’s warning that he was ready to “kill” Jake Paul raised some eyebrows in Miami — especially as the buildup to today’s fight has been relatively good-natured — and they also met with a mixed response further afield.
Joshua’s long-term rival Tyson Fury called him a “classless loser” and a “big bum” for using such strong language, before threatening to “knock you spark out”.
“I think, you know what, he’s a little bit long in the tooth to be talking shit like that,” Fury said on his Instagram Stories. “He's 37 years old at the end of his career, fighting a YouTuber, a Disney Channel guy, who Tommy (Fury) beat, and now he’s talking about killing him and all that to try and sell. Please. Barking up the wrong tree, idiot.
“Here's a fun fact: If I ever come across you, bum, I'm knocking you dead spark out. I ain’t a YouTuber or a man half your size. I am him, the man. You’re a classless loser coming off a 15-month knockout defeat to a local lad. Imagine if someone from Morecambe knocked me out, you big bum useless dosser.
“Get up, and I can’t wait if Jake Paul knocks you spark out, you big bum.”
Despite readily admitting tonight’s fight is about the “conversation”, Anthony Joshua was keen to stress he was not planning on holding back against Jake Paul.
💬 When asked whether any part of him has the intention to go any easier because of who he’s fighting, he said: “Zero part of me.
“And it’s not even that it's Jake. I was actually looking at myself today; I’m a very respectful guy, brought up by a good family, but if I can kill you, I will kill you. That’s just how I am. And this is just the job I do.”
Jake Paul has received plenty of credit for taking on Anthony Joshua. But the former heavyweight champion has received plenty of questions.
💬 On Tuesday he was asked whether those speculating that the fight is fixed are underestimating his values and integrity. “This fight creates conversation: barbershop conversations, taxi conversations, airplane conversations and that’s what we want,” he replied.
“The more people talking about the fight regardless of what it is that they’re talking about is a massive bonus. So for me, I’m not worried about what people think about the integrity side. I’m more worried about, are they talking? As long as they are, we're doing a good job.”
Nakisa Bidarian, Jake Paul’s business partner and co-founder of Most Valuable Promotions, was also present at the roundtable and played down recent reports the American would next move into mixed martial arts to take on boxing’s reigning unified heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk.
💬 “Usyk has spent more time talking about Jake, about doing MMA with him,” Bidarian said. “We love Usyk; I think he's gonna be here on Friday. But Jake and Usyk in MMA doesn’t make a lot of sense to me. I don't think that’s a big marketable event. But it’s not about what's bigger, it's about what’s the next strategic move in building his career and also building his brand and building MVP.
“Mike Tyson and Jake Paul did 125 million viewers. Then he fought Chavez Jr: a lot less viewers, but it was about fighting a guy who was extremely experienced, a world champion, you could say past his prime, but never been knocked out in his life. After Anthony Joshua, depending on what the outcome is, we’ll determine what the right next step is.”
Jake Paul was also asked how much of what he says is genuine and how much is an attempt to wind up the boxing community — and in particular Eddie Hearn. (Paul said recently he would replace Hearn as Matchroom CEO.)
💬 “I don't know. I just be thinking of crazy shit in my head and just say it,” Paul replied. “Realistically, I wouldn’t want to be the CEO of a dying company.”
On whether he has finally earned respect from boxing purists now that he is taking on a legitimate current fighter, he said: “I’m not even sure who the boxing purists are. Who are these people that we just talk about, and how pure are they? They can’t be that pure. Do they go to church every day?
“On paper the cards are stacked against me, but really in terms of boxing, I’m a better boxer than AJ, which is hilarious to say, but he’s got two left feet, he’s stiff. If I was his coach, I’d put him in a dance class first before trying to box.”
💬 Jake Paul was in an uncharacteristically relaxed mood at the start of Tuesday’s media roundtable. When asked whether he has any fears about Friday night, he replied: “I did, but I asked Jesus to take them away from me, and he did, and I literally don’t feel any fear. So, shout out to Jesus and the power of God and faith.
“I just keep praying and praying every single day and I know something amazing's gonna happen. This is my moment. This is the start of a massive chapter for me.”
There have been a series of events in Miami this week ahead of tonight’s heavyweight fight between Jake Paul and Anthony Joshua.
On Tuesday both men showed off some of their skills at the open workouts, before sitting down with the media to preview this week’s main event.
Our boxing correspondent Sarah Shephard was at those media roundtable sessions and we will bring you her thoughts next.
That would be Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis.
Davis, 31, is the WBA lightweight champion and has an undefeated record of 30-0-1, with one draw against Lamont Roach Jr last time out on March 1.
The fight between Paul and Davis was set for November 14 here at the Kaseya Center but was cancelled after a domestic violence lawsuit was filed against Davis by his former girlfriend.
With Paul keen for a headline-grabbing fight this year, Anthony Joshua was announced as his replacement around two weeks later.
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Jake Paul vs Anthony Joshua live updates: Netflix boxing fight card latest, ring walk times and predictions – The New York Times
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