Is this fight actually going to happen? There’s a fair amount of people who think it won’t as it is such a mismatch.
There’s also not been too much promotion and I’m sure the fight itself was only announced a couple of weeks ago.
Assuming the fight does go ahead though, and I think it will – I really can’t see it going past 3 rounds. Max.
I’m not buying the script theory either. Anthony Joshua has too much pride to get involved in something like that and he care what people think. A lot.
I think anything less than Joshua winning in the first, second or third round will feel like a bit of a failure to Joshua and he’ll want to get the job done properly.
He’s boxing to show he’s still got it but also that the Olympic Gold, the years of amateur boxing and being a two- time World Champion mean something and you can’t just rock up in your early 20s and a few years later beat the best. Especially when there’s such a huge size difference.
Joshua has made light work of so many of his opponents. He may not always be the killer he used to be, as taking damage himself has made him more cautious. But put many of the bin men he faced early on his career in front of him again now and the outcomes wouldn’t be that different to the 1 or 2 round finishes he presented us with originally.
Is Jake Paul better than said Bin men? Yes, I believe he possibly is. ‘The Problem Child’ probably isn’t getting credit for how well he’s taken to the game and how much effort he’s put into making his mark. He fought well against Tommy Fury who again is probably better than he gets credit for and had a pretty impressive victory against Julio César Chávez Jr.
But Jake Paul is not enough of a force to cause Joshua any problems. He’s not got the power of Ruiz and Dubois and is more of a cruiserweight really.
Usyk was a cruiserweight too really, I guess, but Jake lacks the physical fitness and skills to be able to dance around AJ for too long in my opinion.
He could possibly do it for a round maybe 2 but I see Joshua stepping in early and being very keen to finish it.
Joshua has only KO’d 5 of his 32 opponents in round 1 though and 9 have been stopped in round 2. Jake may feel like he’s achieved something if he avoids the round 1 KO and will be determined to avoid that even if it is by running away.
Best Value Bet – Joshua to win in round 2 at 7/2 with Betfair
Fun Longshot Wager – Jake Paul to get knocked down in round 2 and Jake Paul to be stopped in round 3 at 10/1 with Betfair