This coming Friday, December 19, the long-awaited fight between Jake Paul and Anthony Joshua will finally take place. One of them has only 14 bouts combined between amateur and professional fights, while the other is a former heavyweight champion of the world with years of elite-level experience.
On paper, the matchup appears extremely uneven. Joshua was formed within the professional structure of boxing, while Paul was once a streamer who entered the sport for fun and decided to continue once he realized he had a real opportunity.
Now the moment of truth is approaching in a bout that will literally be watched across the globe through Netflix, placing unprecedented attention on both fighters and raising questions about what will actually happen once the bell rings.
The WBC lightweight champion, Shakur Stevenson, tested Jake Paul’s fists as a sparring partner
As part of his preparation for the fight, Paul measured himself against a world-class champion such as Shakur Stevenson to truly understand what awaits him when he steps into the ring against “Tank” Joshua.
From the outside, there appears to be a great deal at stake regarding Paul’s health. However, Stevenson had more to say after sharing the ring with the controversial fighter.
My guy J’Leon Love [a member of Paul’s training team] hit me up, and they set it up.”…”I came down there and we did six, seven rounds. We got in the ring and we sparred.
It’s crazy because I think Jake is better than people would even understand. A lot of people don’t think he’s as good because he started so late, so you don’t know how good he really could’ve been if he started earlier. But you could tell he’s taking the craft seriously. He’s locking in and doing training camps and got the right team around him, got the coaches around him. He’s better than what you’d think.
Stevenson revealed to Uncrowned and added.
I was impressed, for sure.” … “I was surprised because when you think [of] a guy coming from YouTube, you’re like, ‘This guy don’t know nothing.’ But you could tell he has a good coach in his corner who’s telling him the right things. He’s listening to the right things. He’s not bad – like, he’s just not a bad fighter. His instincts are to not get beat up or not get hit, and I was surprised by it, for sure.
It is worth remembering that Jake Paul began boxing in 2018 at the age of 21, which is considered late by traditional standards. He initially fought another streamer and gradually gained relevance within the sport.
He has taken advantage of his financial resources to train with top-level professionals and in world-class facilities, something many boxers who enter the sport out of necessity rather than hobby never experience.
Now he will face an opponent with far greater power, size, weight, and experience. Paul has only been in boxing for a few years, and while his technical improvement is undeniable, he still cannot be compared to the sport’s true greats.
AJ is a boxer – there’s no way AJ should let Jake win that fight.”…”Like, I don’t see how he’d let Jake win. … I don’t know how it’s going to happen, but if you’ve got all of that weight on you, he should go out there and beat Jake. But I don’t think it’d be a knock on Jake’s game [to lose]. As long as he doesn’t get knocked out, as long as he stays on his Ps and Qs in there, I think he should be OK.
Stevenson said and added.
I can’t tell you if [Paul] survives [eight rounds], but I know he survives the first round.
The pressure is also enormous for Anthony Joshua. He is an accomplished fighter, and if he cannot knock down or stop Paul in the early rounds, it will invite ridicule. As his promoter has stated, a loss would likely force him into retirement, as there would be no coming back from a defeat against a semi-professional.
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