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YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul is backmost successful enactment connected Friday nighttime erstwhile helium faces the biggest trial of his vocation against two-time unified heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua.
Joshua volition commencement arsenic the immense favourite successful this one, contempt not having fought for much than a twelvemonth and aft taking a interruption from boxing.
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For Paul, this bout – much than the remainder of his erstwhile fights combined – volition spell a agelong mode to convincing supporters and sceptics alike whether the brash-talking societal media prima is simply a genuine world-class contender oregon thing much than an overhyped pretender.
Here’s what you request to cognize successful beforehand of Paul vs Joshua:
What is the day and commencement clip for the Paul vs Joshua fight?
The combat is scheduled for Friday, December 19.
Paul and Joshua are expected to undertake their ringing walks astatine 10:30pm section clip (03:30 GMT Saturday). The combat volition statesman soon thereafter.
Where is Paul vs Joshua being held?
The heavyweight contention volition beryllium staged astatine the Kaseya Center successful Miami, United States.
The venue is location to the three-time National Basketball Association (NBA) champion Miami Heat and tin clasp up to 20,000 spectators for boxing matches.
How to ticker and travel Paul vs Joshua?
Al Jazeera’s live substance commentary and photograph coverage of the combat nighttime volition statesman astatine 23:30 GMT connected Friday, December 19. We volition bring you each the pre-fight talking points, investigation and build-up earlier bringing you round-by-round Paul-Joshua updates live.
This full combat paper volition beryllium disposable unrecorded worldwide exclusively connected Netflix. All Netflix subscribers tin watercourse the lawsuit astatine nary other cost.
What are the betting odds?
Joshua has a important tallness and value vantage – and his nonrecreational warring resume is acold superior – making the Briton the overwhelming bookie’s favourite to triumph the fight.
Odds via FanDuel (subject to change) connection the pursuing wealth lines, suggesting a Joshua triumph arsenic a near-certainty:
Jake Paul to win: +700
Anthony Joshua: -1300
Anthony Joshua, right, stands caput and shoulders supra Jake Paul with the bookies [File: Eva Marie Uzcategui/Getty Images via AFP]What is the combat purse?
Figures vary, but it appears some fighters are successful for the largest payday of their careers.
It was initially reported that Paul and Joshua would evenly divided a whopping $184m combat purse.
Paul has since claimed connected societal media that the combat volition really beryllium worthy a staggering $267m, but has provided nary grounds to backmost up that inflated figure.
Why hasn’t Joshua fought successful much than a year?
It volition beryllium Joshua’s archetypal bout since a brutal fifth-round knockout nonaccomplishment against chap Englishman Daniel Dubois successful September 2024.
In the past 14 months, the 36-year-old Joshua besides underwent elbow country and took clip disconnected the athletics to retrieve and recharge mentally and physically.
Why didn’t Paul combat Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis?
Paul’s November 14 accumulation boxing lucifer against WBA satellite lightweight champion Gervonta “Tank” Davis was scrapped connected November 4 aft it emerged that a civilian suit had been filed against Davis successful Miami-Dade County successful precocious October.
The scheduled combat had drawn important planetary involvement owed to the novelty of the matchup that pitted the much-larger Paul against Davis, who fights astatine the 135-pound (61kg) value limit.
The November 2025 combat that ne'er happened: Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis, left, and Jake Paul [File: Mostafa Bassim/Anadolu via Getty Images]Who is Jake Paul?
Paul, 28, is from Westlake, Ohio wherever helium and his older member Logan changeable to fame done societal media. Jake began his vocation posting videos connected the online level Vine successful September 2013 and had amassed 5.3 cardinal followers and 2 cardinal views earlier the app was discontinued, according to reports.
Paul is 6-feet, 1-inch gangly (1.85m) and usually fights astatine the cruiserweight – oregon inferior heavyweight – division. The value people bounds for the part is listed astatine 200 pounds (91kg).
The American enters this combat disconnected the backmost of his past palmy bout against erstwhile satellite middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr successful June, which helium won by unanimous decision.
Before that, helium changeable to worldwide fame successful November 2024 erstwhile helium prevailed successful a determination triumph implicit legendary heavyweight Mike Tyson, who was 58 astatine the clip and was a shadiness of his erstwhile self.
Who is Anthony Joshua?
Anthony Joshua is simply a 6-feet, 6-inch gangly (1.98m) boxer from Watford, conscionable extracurricular London, England.
Under the parameters of the bout, Joshua, who historically has weighed successful astatine astir 250 pounds (113kg) for past heavyweight fights, volition beryllium constricted to nary much than 245 pounds (111kg) against Paul.
Joshua is simply a two-time unified heavyweight satellite champion. He held the unified titles (WBA, IBF, WBO) astatine the pursuing clip periods: April 2016 to June 2019, erstwhile helium won the IBF loop and unified it, losing them to Andy Ruiz Jr; and again from December 2019 to September 2021, aft winning the rematch against Ruiz Jr. earlier losing to existent heavyweight satellite champion, Oleksandr Usyk.
Anthony Joshua unleashes a immense close manus against Andy Ruiz Jr during their unification combat for the IBF, WBA, WBO & IBO World Heavyweight titles astatine Diriyah Arena, Diriyah, Saudi Arabia connected December 7, 2019 [Andrew Couldridge/ Action Images via Reuters]What’s Paul’s combat record?
Paul began nonrecreational bouts successful 2020, and his pro combat grounds is 12-1.
His lone nonaccomplishment came successful February 2023, erstwhile helium mislaid to Tommy Fury, the member of erstwhile heavyweight satellite champion Tyson.
What’s Joshua’s combat record?
The 36-year-old’s combat grounds is 28-4. Joshua has fought respective celebrated heavyweights, including Usyk, Dubois and Wladimir Klitschko.
He is 8 years older than Paul and has much than treble the fig of vocation nonrecreational fights than his opponent.
What has Paul said astir the fight?
Paul has predicted the bout volition extremity via a knockout triumph successful the 5th round.
“I’m present to spell retired determination and daze the world,” Paul said. “I cognize what I’m susceptible of. People say, ‘Oh, he’s retired of his mind.’ I’ve gotten to wherever I americium contiguous due to the fact that of delusional optimism. No 1 thinks I’m going to win, truthful articulation the database and beryllium acceptable to beryllium shocked.”
“He’s 1 of the champion heavyweights ever,” Paul added. “But I judge that warring a smaller antheral is often times harder for a heavyweight due to the fact that of the velocity quality and due to the fact that of the ft speed, due to the fact that of the angles. All that powerfulness is great. I conscionable person to debar that 1 shot. I judge that I tin bash that. I cognize I tin prime him isolated and people points.”
What has Joshua said astir the fight?
Despite being the odds-on favourite for victory, Joshua says helium is approaching the eight-round contention seriously.
“You can’t underestimate anyone. I’m going to instrumentality him seriously,” Joshua said. “After a twelvemonth out, I’ve realigned a batch successful my life. I got my absorption backmost to wherever it needs to be.”
Joshua, who has 25 vocation KOs arsenic a pro, acknowledged that thing abbreviated of a speedy knockout triumph volition beryllium perceived arsenic further erosion of his lasting among the elite heavyweights.
“I’ve seen it. I’ve heard it,” helium added. “As I said to Jake respectfully, I request to chopped him up. I request to interruption him up, and I request to wounded him. That’s conscionable what we do.”
Who is warring successful the co-main event?
In the co-main event, it volition beryllium an all-North American women’s matchup with Alycia Baumgardner of the United States putting 2 of her 3 World ace featherweight titles (IBF, WBO) connected the enactment against Canadian challenger Leila Beaduoin.
Baumgardner, aka “The Bomb”, hasn’t been defeated since 2018 and volition commencement arsenic the beardown favourite successful the eighth rubric lucifer of her nonrecreational career.
Beaduoin, who is riding a four-fight winning streak, volition request to beryllium astatine her all-time champion to upset the champ connected Friday.
Alycia Baumgardner (pictured) volition support her undisputed inferior lightweight titles against Leila Beudoin [File: Vincent Carchietta/Imagn Images via Reuters]Full undercard
Main paper (From 8pm | 01:00 GMT connected Saturday)
- Jake Paul vs Anthony Joshua – heavyweight (8x3min rounds)
- Alycia Baumgardner vs Lela Beaudoin – IBF & WBO super-featherweight satellite titles (12x3min rounds)
- Anderson Silva vs Tyron Woodley – cruiserweight (6x3min rounds)
- Jahmal Harvey vs Kevin Cervantes – featherweight (6x3min rounds)
Preliminary paper (From 4.45pm | 21:45 GMT connected Friday)
- Cherneka Johnson vs Amanda Galle – undisputed bantamweight rubric (10x2min rounds)
- Yokasta Valle vs Yadira Bustillos – WBC strawweight satellite rubric (10x2min rounds)
- Avious Griffin vs Justin Cardona – welterweight (8x3min rounds)
English (US) ·