Jake Paul vs Anthony Joshua live: YouTuber ‘beat up’ in sparring?
British cruiserweight champion Viddal Riley believes Jake Paul was “getting beat up a lot” in sparring ahead of this fight.
Riley, whose management company 258 MGT was founded by Joshua, told The Independent recently: “Based on the people he’s called in, I think he’s getting beat up quite a bit, but I think that’s giving him confidence that ‘I can take a beating’.
“I think that’s what he’s getting out of sparring – not to get the better of them, but just to say like, I’ve been in there with that world champion and I’m still breathing, I’m still weaving, I’m still here. That means I can do it.”
Paul has been sparring with Lawrence Okolie, Frank Sanchez and Jared Anderson – more on them in a moment…
Alex Pattle19 December 2025 19:25
Jake Paul vs Anthony Joshua live: Is Usyk coaching AJ?
Joshua confirmed the news in November, and it follows the Briton’s two world-title fights with Usyk in 2021 and 2022. Usyk beat Joshua via decision on each occasion.
“I won’t be trained by Ben Davison,” Joshua said. “I said that London’s a bit distracting to me. I was invited to train with Team Usyk, so we’ve been doing some good training in Spain.
“I don’t spar with Usyk. He’s been somewhere else, he’s in and out of camp, [but] Ben said: ‘One hundred per cent, that’s a great move [to join Team Usyk].’ They’re killing me, drilling me.”
Joshua also said “Igor” will be his head coach, although it is unclear to whom he was referring. Yuri Tkachenko is the longtime trainer of Usyk.
Alex Pattle19 December 2025 19:10
Jake Paul vs Anthony Joshua live: Wilder offers surprising reaction
Another heavyweight to voice his opinion on Paul vs Joshua is Fury’s old rival Deontay Wilder – a man that fans have long wanted to see fight AJ.
Far from dismissing or criticising the match-up, Wilder told The Action Network: “It is what it is. These are the times and the generation that we’re living in. Of course, you got these guys [influencers] coming in and they do a hell of a job of marketing themselves, bringing fights.
“It draws attraction, it draws attention. If you can build a system where you can fight anybody and hype it up to make it where people buy it, then there you go.
“It’s all about how they advertise and promote this thing. If [Joshua] goes in and promotes like this is the opportunity of a lifetime, to get to a title fight or something like that… this is not a qualification for that.
“And then he ends up losing, getting knocked out or something? It is gonna hurt his legacy.”
Alex Pattle19 December 2025 18:55
Jake Paul vs Anthony Joshua live: Tyson Fury’s prediction
Sticking on Fury, the “Gypsy King” made a U-turn on his prediction for Paul vs Joshua last week.
Fury had gone on record to predict that Paul, would knock out Joshua, however, he has seemingly changed his mind.
He told Ooosch TV on Instagram: “I think it’ll go the distance, and I think it’ll be a move-around and a points job.”
Alex Pattle19 December 2025 18:41
Jake Paul vs Anthony Joshua live: AJ clarifies ‘kill’ comments
Joshua has clarified comments he made that proved controversial this week, having initially said: “If I can kill you, I will kill you.”
Tyson Fury was among those to criticise “AJ” for his words, calling his fellow Briton a “classless loser”.
But Joshua moved to clarify his comments at the final press conference for tonight’s bout in Miami.
“That’s my job, we fight,” Joshua said. “We have a licence to kill. Many people don’t understand it, but this is what my job is.”
Alex Pattle19 December 2025 18:25
Jake Paul vs Anthony Joshua live: How much are they getting paid?
In the days leading up to the confirmation of this bout in November, the Daily Mail reported, “Sources tell us that a gargantuan prize pot of around £140m [$184m] has been mooted,” seemingly to be split evenly between Joshua and Paul.
However, Paul later took to X (formerly Twitter) with a different figure, seemingly referencing the fight purse.
Several days after the Mail’s report was published, Paul tweeted: “Stop asking me. $267 Million.” That works out at approximately £200m.
Sports and entertainment accountant Oriana Morrison told The Independent on Tuesday: “Even if the lower figure – the rumoured $184m purse – is true, AJ could bring home $92m [£70m].
“We haven’t seen a boxing match with a purse at this level since Mayweather vs Pacquiao in 2015 or even Mayweather vs McGregor in 2017. It’s higher than any Saudi purse to date.”
Alex Pattle19 December 2025 18:11
Jake Paul vs Anthony Joshua live: Undercard
Here’s tonight’s fight card in full, with ex-UFC champions Anderson Silva and Tyron Woodley squaring off, and with numerous world-title fights scheduled:
Alycia Baumgardner (C) vs Leila Beaudoin (IBF, WBO women’s super-featherweight titles)
Anderson Silva vs Tyron Woodley (cruiserweight)
Jahmal Harvey vs Kevin Cervantes (super-featherweight)
Cherneka Johnson (C) vs Amanda Galle (IBF, WBC, WBO women’s bantamweight titles)
Caroline Dubois (C) vs Camila Panatta (WBC women’s lightweight title)
Yokasta Valle (C) vs Yadira Bustillos (WBC women’s strawweight title)
Avious Griffin vs Justin Cardona (welterweight)
Keno Marley vs Diarra Davis Jr (cruiserweight)
Alycia Baumgardner (left) will feature in tonight’s co-main event (Getty Images for Netflix)
Alex Pattle19 December 2025 17:59
Jake Paul vs Anthony Joshua live: Odds
Jake Paul at this week’s open workouts in Miami (Getty)
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Alex Pattle19 December 2025 17:43
Jake Paul vs Anthony Joshua live: Is the fight scripted?
Fans continue to express suspicion, despite the fact that Paul’s company Most Valuable Promotions (MVP) recently threatened legal action against those who have accused him of rigging his fights.
This month, Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn addressed the matter, saying: “Firstly, it’s illegal to have a script when there’s a professional, sanctioned contest; two, we would never be involved in an exhibition fight. Do you think I would sign up to something that might make AJ look bad or go [for multiple] rounds?
“No, we wanna go in there, do a job for boxing, which is what we should be doing, which is ironing this guy out ASAP.
“If [Paul] shows any signs of confidence in this fight, or any signs of aggressiveness, he’s gonna get ironed out as soon as he makes a move […] We couldn’t be taking it more seriously.”
Alex Pattle19 December 2025 17:32
Jake Paul vs Anthony Joshua live: What are the rules?
This will be a professional heavyweight fight, not an exhibition, meaning the result will go on each man’s record and a knockout is possible.
It will be scheduled for eight three-minute rounds, and each man will wear standard 10oz gloves.
Joshua was not allowed to tip the scales at more than 245lb at yesterday’s weigh-in.
In fact, here are the specific weights for each fighter:
Alex Pattle19 December 2025 17:20