Anthony Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn says he has “no real defence” to the critics that suggest his fight with Jake Paul is a dangerous mis-match and concedes his man losing would be an “absolute disaster and awfully embarrassing.”
Joshua and Paul clash in Miami on Friday in a fight that will be screened on Netflix and will reportedly earn both fighters somewhere in the region of £70million.
Pitting a former two-time world heavyweight champion against a man who has developed into a boxer from a YouTube star appears another worrying development for the sport.
Joshua was scheduled to fight in Saudi Arabia instead as he looked to bounce back from a devastating defeat to Daniel Dubois in September 2024 but money talks.
Hearn wrote in a column for BBC Sport: “I have no real defence of Anthony Joshua versus Jake Paul. It’s crazy that it’s happening and I think the critics are spot on.
“But we just couldn’t turn it down. No boxer in their right mind would have said no. Anyone who says they would are completely lying through their teeth.
“We took a fight that we believe will be very straightforward, will give AJ a huge profile in America and one of his career-high paydays.
“AJ was going to have a run-out fight in November in Saudi – an eight-rounder against a guy who was ranked about 100th in the heavyweight division.
“It was an opportunity to wrap the hands with his new training team, do the ringwalk and go through the motions. Now we’re doing that same run-out but for 50 times more money.”
Table of Contents
Defeat would be ‘awful embarrassing’
Defeat is unthinkable for the Briton and Hearn admits more regular fights – Joshua continues to target a bout with Tyson Fury – will follow once this lucrative sideshow is out of the way.
He added: “We have a clear strategy in mind – to knock Jake out asap. Then we go into normal service being resumed in 2026.
“AJ will fight against a world-class opponent in February and – if all goes well – he will then fight Tyson Fury.
“So there’s a method to this madness and taking this fight does not affect AJ’s legacy. But losing to Jake or it even going the distance would.
“It would be an absolute disaster and awfully embarrassing.”
Fight is not scripted – Hearn
Friday’s bout will attract a huge television audience but Hearn dismissed suggestions the fight has already been scripted, pointing out the reputational damage that would cause to Joshua.
“So many people have come up to me asking if it’s scripted,” he said. “Firstly, we’d be investigated by the FBI if it was. It would be illegal. This is a professional contest and a sanctioned bout where people are betting on it.
“And do you think I would ever allow AJ to have a script with Jake? A script where we might lose or even hold him up and look bad? No way.
“We are not giving this guy an edge or a chance to say “told you I was better than AJ” or “I won rounds”. This would be catastrophic for AJ and we’re not going to risk that.”
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: 101greatgoals.com
