Jake Paul backs his ‘delusional optimism’ to upset Anthony Joshua

MIAMI – YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul is backing “delusional optimism” to carry him to an upset win over British former world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua when the two men clash in a made-for-streaming event in Miami, Florida in December.

Paul, 28, who defeated a 58-year-old Mike Tyson in a heavily criticised fight screened on Netflix in 2024, will take on a vastly younger opponent when he faces the 36-year-old Joshua in an eight-round heavyweight bout on Dec 19.

The fight, which will reportedly see both men divide a massive US$184 million (S$240 million) purse, has once again raised safety concerns across boxing, with the 1.85m Paul going up against the hard-hitting 1.98m Joshua, the 2012 Olympic champion and two-time unified heavyweight champion.

Former world champion David Haye had earlier warned that the fight could be Paul’s “last day on earth”. The British Boxing Board of Control, meanwhile, said it would not have sanctioned the fight on safety grounds.

Paul – whose limited ring record includes 12 wins and one defeat, with seven knockouts – will be at a sizeable height, weight and reach disadvantage against Joshua, who has 25 knockouts among his 28 career wins, with only four defeats.

However the trash-talking American was adamant on Nov 21 that he has the tools to stop Joshua as the two men faced off in a promotional event for December’s Netflix special.

Asked by a moderator if he had “lost his mind” by opting to take on Joshua, Paul replied: “I like to challenge myself against the best. We’re going to go to war and the best man will win.

“I have gotten to where I am today because of delusional optimism. It’s delusion until it’s not. It’s got me to where I am today. No one ever thought that this would be possible, that we would be here when I first started boxing, and no one thinks I’m going to win. So join the list and be ready to be shocked.”

Joshua, meanwhile, who towered above Paul during the event, warned he is ready to deliver an emphatic victory.

“If I’m gonna be honest, I’m gonna break his face, I’m gonna break his body up, I’m gonna stomp all over him,” he said.

Joshua, whose last fight was a fifth-round knockout loss to fellow Briton Daniel Dubois in September 2024, meanwhile revealed that he had been training in Spain with Ukraine’s reigning unified heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk after splitting with former trainer Ben Davison.

“Usyk’s one of the best in the world... it’s down to his team that’s around him. I linked up with them, getting an insight into how someone has achieved so much has been phenomenal,” he added. AFP