By: Sean Crose
“Bigger, faster, stronger.” Those were the words the great Ray Mancini said to me 10 years ago when explaining why he felt Floyd Mayweather would beat Manny Pacquiao in their upcoming super fight. It’s strange all these years later, but those same three words are popping into my head now that Jake Paul has signed up to fight none other than former heavyweight kingpin Anthony Joshua. Paul deserves credit for being brave. He really does. He also is a picture of confidence. Here’s the thing though: He’s never fought anyone like Joshua before. He’s beaten a couple of boxers, some former UFC greats, and of course Mike Tyson (who at his age shouldn’t have even been in the ring ).
Joshua on the other hand, has recently been a world champion. What’s more, he’s still a contender to be a world champion and if that’s not enough, he may very well end up being a world champion again before he calls it a career. What does all this mean? It means that the fighter, a towering Londoner, is still very much in the fight game. And if his skills have perhaps dropped a little, they haven’t dropped enough for him not to likely lay a beating on Paul when the two men meet December 19th in Miami. Some are complaining about this fight but the truth is there have been worse novelty battles lately. Paul is a natural cruiserweight so it’s not like he’s got a huge mountain to climb to deal with Joshua’s physically. It’s certainly less of a physical mismatch than Paul’s cancelled fight with Gervonta Davis was.
The Paul-Joshua fight will most likely come down to skills. Joshua has a lot more of those than Paul does. Paul isn’t a bad fighter. He’s got heart and he’s got a powerful right hand and he’s probably getting better every time he’s getting in the ring. With that being said, Joshua is one of the top three or four heavyweights of the post Klitschko era. He’s got good footwork, he’s fast, and he’s powerful, thunderously powerful. As Ray Mancini said all those years ago – “bigger, faster, stronger.” Could Jake Paul somehow pull up the upset? Sure, and it would be one for the ages. That’s not likely going to happen, though. The truth about Jake Paul versus Anthony Joshua is that Paul’s most likely heading for quite a beating.
