'He's a very brave man': Jake Paul is finally receiving boxing’s respect, but it could come at a terrible price
There is an underlying brilliance to Jake Paul, the YouTuber-turned-pro boxer. His provocative shtick and clickbait artistry have helped him climb the attention ladder of boxing in recent years and placed him in the mainstream, while claiming he couldn't care less if others questioned his foray into the fight game as authentic or not.
Deep down though, Paul did care — he cared what other pros and boxing people thought.
On Friday, Paul (12-1, 7 KOs) may finally get what he secretly sought — authenticity as a real fighter, though possibly at a terrible price, when he meets former two-time heavyweight world champion and 2012 Olympic super heavyweight gold medalist Anthony Joshua (28-4, 25 KOs) in a scheduled eight-round Netflix main event from the Kaseya Center in Miami.
For years, boxing’s cognoscenti scoffed at Paul’s quest to be viewed as a legitimate pro. The 28-year-old was appealing to the lowest-common-denominator, building an audience of non-boxing fans who bit on his performative pre-fight outrage and filling his résumé against other YouTubers, retired diminutive NBA players, shopworn MMA fighters and rusty, retired former boxing world champions.
But he had not fought anyone real — until now.
Much to the admiration of some of boxing’s most respected fighters and trainers.
“I think Jake Paul is a very brave man, and I think it is a real fight, only because I know Anthony Joshua does not want to lose to Jake Paul, nor does he want to look bad beating Jake Paul,” said Danny Garcia, the future Hall of Famer and former two-division world champion. “Joshua has a lot to lose here. Joshua is a two-time heavyweight world champion, and if he lost to Jake Paul, that would destroy his legacy. It’s why I say this will be a real fight.
“I didn’t think much of Jake Paul before. I do now. I have to say he's a very brave man. To me, it is a win-win for Jake Paul. If he wins, he rocks the world, like when Buster Douglas beat Mike Tyson. If he loses, like he is expected to do, he stepped up and lost to the first legitimate fighter he ever fought, who was a two-time heavyweight world champion. That would be expected. I give Jake Paul a ton of credit.”
Paul, most boxing people feel, is closer to an A-level club fighter. He is not an elite world heavyweight contender like Joshua, who already had more than four times as many world title fights — nine (going 8-1) — as Paul had pro fights when he first began in 2020, debuting against fellow influencer Ali Eson Gib and then facing 5-foot-9 Robinson, 36, at the time.
“It is a dangerous fight and a smart fight for Jake Paul, but he will lose to a former heavyweight champion who no one expected him to beat, losing to a real fighter,” Garcia said. “Boxing is brutal. No one is guaranteed to walk out of that ring. Boxers train to kill each other. I hope Jake Paul does not get seriously hurt. Once you enter that ring, anything can happen. Joshua will hit him hard. He will get a lot of slack if he does not hit Jake Paul hard. If I was Jake Paul’s trainer, I would tell him to go for the gusto, try to hit him on that chin.”
Brian McIntyre, the trainer for newly retired undisputed super middleweight world champion Terence Crawford and the 2023 Boxing Writers of America Association Trainer of the Year, would advise Paul to get as far away from Joshua as possible.
“I think it is a real fight, but Jake Paul is going for the money, that’s what I personally think,” McIntyre said. “Jake Paul knows Anthony Joshua is very popular in Britain and knows that there is a market that will want to see this fight. The UK fans love their fighters. I don’t think this will be the end of Jake Paul. After this, he will look for someone he could beat. There is no way in hell he will beat Anthony Joshua. Joshua can hurt Jake Paul bad. Jake Paul may last one or two rounds, before Joshua lands that right hand on his ass. I may watch it. I don’t care if Jake Paul wins or loses. I will give him credit — Jake Paul is a cash cow and can fight anyone he wants.
“Jake Paul has no chance," McIntyre added. "If I was Jake Paul’s trainer, I would ask him, 'What the f*** are you thinking, taking on a monster like [Joshua]?’ I want to see him fight someone real. He picked the right guy to mess with. He knows he is going to get his ass whipped, and he knows what he is doing. It was like Mike Tyson in his heyday; they were willing to get knocked out for $ 30 million.”
Bob Santos, the 2022 Ring Trainer of the Year, worked with Paul in Puerto Rico last year. Santos could not stay in Paul’s camp because of a conflict in training schedules. To Paul’s credit, Santos said, he trains and works hard. He lives a boxing lifestyle. Though he is 28, eight years younger than Joshua, Paul is 6-foot-1 to Joshua’s 6-foot-6 and is giving away six inches in reach (82 inches to 76).
Joshua is also looking at a mega-payday in 2026 — a possible titanic tilt against two-time former heavyweight champion Tyson Fury. A loss to Paul would be disastrous to those plans.
“Jake Paul is a brave, brave, brave man, and I will also say he can punch,” Santos said. “Does he have the power of a former two-time heavyweight world champion and Olympic gold medalist? No. I worked with Jake. I caught punches with him. He is a heavy-handed guy, but with the difference in experience, in there with someone who knows what he is doing, Jake Paul is in big-time trouble. I give Jake Paul a ton of credit. He could fight anyone and make a ton of money. He wants to measure himself against one of the best to see just how good he is.
“For him to do this, this will show where he is. If he is competitive, this will tell him where he is at cruiserweight. Any man with two hands has a chance when you are swinging, and this is an insurmountable hill to climb. Joshua lost to men who had a wealth of experience. Jake will have to carry a high guard, get in the middle distance and punch with Joshua. Hey, Jake is rolling the dice going into the ring with Joshua; he might as well go for it all. It’s a fight I definitely want to see. I know Jake Paul takes boxing seriously.”
World super lightweight champion Teofimo Lopez Jr. also has an interest in the Joshua-Paul fight. Like many in boxing, Lopez gives Paul respect going into the ring against a real fighter.
“I give a lot of respect to Jake, and I think he really enjoys the sport of boxing,” said Lopez, who has a major title fight coming up against pound-for-pound star Shakur Stevenson on Jan. 31 at Madison Square Garden. “I think Jake got a lot of pushback, before he rose in boxing in a way that was not organic to how most of us were made. He wants to prove a point. This will not be scripted. Anthony Joshua wants to prove a point, too. Joshua does not want to look bad. If I have time, I’ll watch it. I always thought Jake was trying, but I did not understand his algorithm. Seeing where he is, I see it. I have massive respect for Jake Paul. Not everyone feels that way about Jake, but there are more boxing people who give him his due for making this fight.
“You have to.”
Robert Garcia, trainer of world super flyweight champion Jesse "Bam" Rodriguez and the 2024 BWAA Trainer of the Year, made an interesting point that Joshua may be fighting for more than a future shot at Fury. Joshua may be the standard-bearer of boxing for this fight. A loss to someone like Paul would tarnish not only Joshua’s past accomplishments, but throw a gut shot at every valid pro throughout the world, giving credence to an outlier.
If Joshua loses face, how will fans view world title boxing contenders?
Former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou thought he could beat Joshua in March 2024. That ended quickly, when Joshua knocked Ngannou down in the first round and finished him in the second.
“Joshua is carrying some pressure, but he did knock Ngannou out cold. Boxing people expect Joshua to do the same against Paul,” said Robert Garcia. “It is hard to think Joshua would lose to Jake Paul. I believe it will be a real fight, but I think Jake Paul could pose some problems for Joshua. I worked with Joshua for his rematch with [world heavyweight champion Oleksandr] Usyk. He had some bad days in training camp where we were actually worried. If Jake Paul can catch one of those days, who knows. Jake Paul is going to have to make this an awkward fight and get to his head. I would like to see Anthony Joshua catch Jake Paul and knock him out cold. The real boxing world wants to see Joshua knock him out and it’s what the boxing world has been waiting for.
“I give Jake Paul credit. I respect him for fighting Joshua. But it will be a never-ending story when Joshua starts landing punches.”
WBA welterweight world champion Rolando “Rolly” Romero knows a few things about upsets. He spoiled the Ryan Garcia vs. Devin Haney rematch by upsetting Garcia on points this past May.
“Jake Paul has something called ‘plot armor’ — the main character has to survive, and he’s the main character,” Romero said. “Jake Paul is a smart guy who is brave. And there is no way Jake Paul would fight someone if he knew he was going to lose.
"Joshua is fighting a cruiserweight. He is not doing anything special for this fight. The last time Anthony Joshua fought in the United States, we know what happened — Andy Ruiz knocked him out cold [in June 2019]. This will be a real fight. If I was Jake Paul’s trainer, the focus should be to punch Anthony Joshua as many times as possible in the face. I have Jake Paul winning by plot armor.”
