By: Sean Crose
For better or for worse it’s come to this. British super promoter Eddie Hearn is publicly declaring that social media star turned boxer Jake Paul might very well face hard-hitting former world titlist Anthony Joshua. Not all that long ago, such a fight would have seemed impossible or laughable or both. Now it may indeed become a reality. Paul isn’t a bad fighter, and Joshua has clearly been on the decline. Yet it’s hard to imagine the Londoner getting beaten by the likes of Paul. Still the curiosity factor would make this a huge event should it come to fruition.
The truth is Paul brings in a lot of money and eyeballs to the sport of boxing. That could definitely be seen as a bad thing though it’s nice to see attention being given to the sport. Still, novelty fights are not something that makes boxing grow. And make no mistake about it, a fight between Paul and Joshua will be a novelty event. A big one. Perhaps not as big as Jake Paul’s fight with Mike Tyson last year, but big nonetheless. It’s also worth noting that at his age, Joshua is more likely to do a lot greater damage than Tyson was able to against Paul.
Again, Joshua hasn’t been going through an amazing run these past few years. He’s lost to Olexander Usyk twice and has also lost to Daniel Dubois. Respectfully, he did however flatten Francis NGannou when he met the UFC star in the ring some time ago. The brutality of that performance may be something Paul wants to keep in mind. Should he fight Joshua, he will be getting in the ring with a very, very powerful opponent. Not that Paul’s apt to back down from a challenge. Indeed, the social media star turned fighter seems to thrive on it.
The truth is Paul has proven a lot of people wrong. He’s a quality fighter. No doubt about it. He’s extremely disciplined and carries real power. He could at this point challenge a world titleist. The odds would likely be very much against him, especially if he were to fight for a title at cruiserweight, but he looks as good as a lot of contenders out there at the moment nonetheless. That of course doesn’t mean that he can beat someone like Joshua, or any world class level of competition. The guy likely never will be able to compete in that rarefied air. He just started in the sport too late. That’s no knock on Paul though. Paul deserves credit for what he’s done and – again – for bringing in interest to boxing.
Joshua, however would likely be a bridge too far.
