Jake Paul has never been shy about self-promotion, boldly declaring himself the face of boxing over the past decade.
Now, the YouTuber-turned-prizefighter is stepping into his most perilous challenge yet, raising the stakes after 13 professional bouts largely against opponents who lacked the activity and pedigree of the man waiting for him next.
Paul is set to face former two-time heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua on Friday night at the Kaseya Center, home of the NBA’s Miami Heat.
The scheduled eight-round bout will stream globally on Netflix, bypassing the traditional pay-per-view model.
Joshua, 36, enters as the overwhelming favorite to halt Paul’s unlikely rise.
Though he has not fought since September 2024 – when Daniel Dubois stopped him in five rounds – the Briton’s resume and power (28-4, 25 KOs) loom as the clearest and most dangerous test of Paul’s boxing ambitions yet.
“The odds are stacked against me,” Paul said Wednesday during the fighters’ final media appearance before the bout. “There are no sporting teams in history that have come together where it’s this big of a difference in terms of skills, experience, resume, height and weight. This is going to be the biggest upset in the history of sport, and you guys get to witness it.”
During the photo faceoff that closed Wednesday’s event, the 6-foot-6 Joshua towered over the 6-foot-1 Paul. Joshua also holds a six-inch reach advantage, 82-76. In addition, 12 of Paul’s bouts have been contested at the 200-pound cruiserweight limit.
Joshua weighed 243 pounds at Thursday’s weigh-in, while Paul came in at 216.
The 28-year-old Paul (12-1, 7 KOs) has built his professional record through unconventional methods. He owns victories over retired UFC champions Anderson Silva and Nate Diaz and earned a convincing decision against former middleweight titleholder Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.
Paul’s ability to entice 58-year-old Mike Tyson into the ring last year further enhanced the circus-like atmosphere that often defines his bouts. Yet the fight against the legendary former heavyweight champion, which Paul won by unanimous decision, drew 72,300 fans to AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, and generated a reported 108 million global views.
For all the followers Paul has gained through social media, he acknowledges there are detractors who view him as an insult to the sport and to fighters who have endured the arduous climb toward contention and championship opportunities.
“No one has done more for the sport of boxing in the past decade than myself,” said Paul, who also has formed a promotional company that will oversee Friday’s nine-bout card. “I think if people really cared about boxing, they’d want me to win.
“I see the angle they’re coming from – that (Joshua’s) the traditional boxer, that he’s been doing it his whole life. But I think I’m more important for the sport of boxing. If they actually cared about the sport, they’d want me to win.”
Joshua, who won an Olympic gold medal representing England at the 2012 London Games, understands his perceived role as boxing’s traditional standard-bearer against Paul.
“It just seems I’ve been called in to save the purest of boxing,” Joshua said. “People don’t like the fact that I’m fighting Jake. Whether that concerns me or not is another question. If you look at the people who don’t want me to be here, they want me to put an end to the Jake Paul show. That’s why I have to carry boxing on my back with this fight.”
Friday’s bout will be Joshua’s second professional fight in the United States. He is seeking a better outcome than his American debut, when Andy Ruiz Jr. knocked him out in seven rounds to end Joshua’s first heavyweight reign six years ago at Madison Square Garden.
“It was a tragedy. It was a loss,” Joshua said of his first professional defeat. “But if you’re in sports, it may happen. You may take some losses, but the goal is to bounce back. Through tragedy, there can always be a great story. This is just part of what my life is.”
