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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.
Five all-action rounds done here and Yokasta Valle has a deep gash on the right side of her forehead that’s sending a lot of blood down into her right eye. They will keep going but that injury could definitely cause issues as this goes on.
A reminder: we’ve been attempting to work out whether or not Jake Paul is good or bad for boxing. Is he helping the sport gain new fans or making a mockery of it? The Athletic canvassed promoters, fighters past and present and influencers to find out — and we want to hear from you, too. Email your answers to the following questions to live@theathletic.com and we’ll run through some of your thoughts ahead of tonight’s main card.
Joe Gallagher, trainer: “There’s that niche in the market that’s made the likes of Misfits come through because of this TikTok era we’re in. People want things quickly, they want it to be explosive and that ticks the box. Jake Paul is the master of doing that.”
Ethan H, via email: “Genius — don’t make me laugh! Jake Paul is the classic example of being in the right place at the right time. He has taken the novelty of white-collar boxing and stuck it on his social media feeds for millions of people to see.”
Next up is a fight between Costa Rica’s Yokasta Valle and America's Yadira Bustillos for the WBC strawweight title. Bustillos walks to the ring in a pink sparkly gown and crown, while her team throws what appear to be pink gloves into the stands. Valle follows in Elphaba green and comes bearing no gifts.
Our next fight will be the first world title contest of the evening, as Yokasta Valle (33-3) defends her WBC strawweight world title against Yadira Bustillos (11-1).
Costa Rica’s Valle is a three-division world champion and beat Elizabeth Lopez Corzo last year to claim the vacant WBC belt, before defending it for the first time in her most recent fight, a split decision win over Marlen Esparza.
Tonight she takes on Las Vegas native Bustillos, who is fighting for a world title for the first time. Her only defeat came when she traveled to Germany to fight Sarah Bormann for the WBC interim title.
The arena is pretty empty right now and it’s only 5.30pm ET but I am strongly considering cashing in my media meal deal voucher for something called Chicken Ciao, where I can either have a footlong dog or chicken tenders.
Both appetising options (as long as you're not a vegetarian…)
Main card (starts 8pm ET on Netflix)
Preliminary card (starts 4.45pm on YouTube)
Second fight of the prelims pitted Avious ‘The Underdog’ Griffin against Justin Cardona in a welterweight 8 rounder. But The Underdog proved he was no such thing and ended it with a first round KO (just about; at 2.59), via a short left hook that landed right on the button and sent Cardona to the canvas.
How many more KOs will we see tonight?
Avious Griffin is interviewed by Ariel Helwani after that lightning-quick victory.
💬 “I went back to the lab and I started slow. I shadowboxed 30, 40 rounds. I worked on a lot of things, my footwork, my distance. I’m back and I’m better.
“I want the rematch with Julian Rodriguez. I’ve taken a lot of losses in my life and that was just the first loss you witnessed.”
Wow! That didn’t last long! And what a way for Avious Griffin to respond to the first defeat of his professional career!
Justin Cardona had made a bright start but Griffin walked him onto a short, sharp check left hook and that was that.
Cardona fell back into the ropes and then sunk down to the canvas. He failed to beat the count and the fight is over in the very first round.
Anthony Joshua, former world heavyweight champion and Paul’s opponent today: “He stands really side on, which is good. He’s also quite hard to hit with a one-two, has a good jab and good overhand right. And he has good conditioning – does the eight rounds well. And he’s fearless.”
Johnny Nelson, former cruiserweight world champion: “He’s a domestic-level fighter. And he’s proven that — he couldn’t even beat Tommy Fury, who’s not even British champion. But he’s a domestic-level fighter with world-class appeal, which is why he’s leapfrogged everybody into a position where if you get in the ring with him, you get paid millions.”
Harry L, via email: “Jake Paul is clearly not a particularly skilled boxer. But it’s hard to know exactly how good he is, or isn’t, because he hasn’t fought anybody at a similar level to him. Anthony Joshua is leagues above. His most recent victories have been against old men. He only narrowly lost to Tommy Fury but how has he improved since then? It’s impossible to know.”
Avious Griffin (17-1) aims to bounce back from the first defeat of his professional career against Justin Cardona (10-1). Griffin, 32, was knocked out by Julian Rodriguez in his most recent bout.
This welterweight contest is scheduled for eight rounds.
Main card (starts 8pm ET on Netflix)
Preliminary card (starts 4.45pm on YouTube)
Keno Marley has won his professional debut by unanimous decision.
The Brazilian dropped Diarra Davis Jr. in the very first round and completely controlled the fight from there on.
Davis landed just 25 punches across the four rounds and did well to reach the final bell.
This email from Troy legitimately made me laugh out loud. Deep breaths, Troy. We’re all in this together!
Troy W: “Cannot overstate how much I HATE myself for getting sucked into these fights time and time again. Will this fight be any good? No. Do I find myself reading articles and watching videos on how Jake Paul might actually be able to upset Anthony Joshua? Yes. Well done Netflix, take my money.”
This next one is also a doozie.
Thomas C: “The fact that the winner doesn't have to box a kangaroo immediately after is a missed opportunity to make this thing bigger.”
Remember, you can get involved by emailing me at live@theathletic.com.
In recent weeks, Jake Paul has described himself as “a bigger name than Canelo, globally,” referring to the former undisputed super-middleweight champion Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez, and anointed himself “the face of boxing”. Even Anthony Joshua admits that he sees today’s fight as an “opportunity to grow his profile.”
But how do those inside of boxing view Paul? Is he helping the sport gain new fans or making a mockery of it? The Athletic canvassed promoters, fighters past and present and influencers to find out — and we want to hear from you, too. Email your answers to the following questions to live@theathletic.com and we’ll run through some of your thoughts ahead of tonight’s main card.
The broadcast of the preliminary card has just started and it’s available to watch for free on both the Netflix Sport and Most Valuable Promotions YouTube channels.
The first fight sees two-time Brazilian Olympian Keno Marley make his professional debut against American Diarra Davis Jr. (2-1).
Despite the large number of people tuning in to Paul vs. Tyson back in November 2024, there were significant streaming issues.
Netflix struggled to keep up with the high demand and viewers complained of freezing, buffering and resolution problems.
Viewers noticed issues early in the night, which included three other undercard fights, and flooded Netflix’s social media accounts with complaints about the glitchy stream.
There were issues with former boxer Evander Holyfield’s earpiece and Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones’ microphone malfunctioning during separate interviews.
Netflix will hope to avoid similar issues tonight.
Jake Paul’s bout with Mike Tyson may have fallen short in the ring but it exceeded Netflix’s hopes by drawing the eyeballs of 60 million households.
Netflix called it a “record-breaking night” and said the bout peaked at 65 million concurrent streams, having made the bout available to its hundreds of millions of subscribers without charging extra fees.
Moreover, nearly 50 million households also tuned in for the co-main event between Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano.
Serious numbers. One wonders if tonight’s fight will break those records.
Jake Paul vs Anthony Joshua live updates: Netflix fight card results, ring walk times and predictions – The Athletic – The New York Times
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