MIAMI – Anthony Joshua did not take kindly to claims that he would take it easy on Jake Paul.
Like many of Paul’s bouts before, there are doubts if the contest on Friday at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida, will be a legitimate one. After all, why else would Paul, a man who made his name on YouTube, take on a former two-time heavyweight titleholder and Olympic gold medalist?
Now Joshua is not the kind of fighter to lie down for anyone and his response, when asked if he could carry Paul on Friday, shows exactly why not.
“Zero part of me [is going to take it easy on him], and it's not even that it's Jake Paul,” said Joshua in a steely tone. “Do you know I was actually looking at myself today, I'm a very respectful guy, brought up by a good family, but if I can kill you, I will kill you. That's just how I am, and this is just the job I do. So let's go.”
The hard-hitting heavyweight’s reply would convince many that Friday night’s contest is far from farce, but there will still be some doubters.
“That's the whole point of this fight. It creates conversation, barbershop conversations, taxi conversations, aeroplane conversations and that's what we want,” Joshua said. “The more people talking about the fight, regardless of what it is that they're talking about, it is a massive bonus. So for me I'm not too sure about, I'm not worried about what people think about the integrity side. I'm more worried about whether they are talking, and as long as they are I think we're doing a good job. They're definitely talking.”
If Paul should manage to defeat the decorated Joshua, it would truly be a sad day for the sport in many boxing critic’s eyes. A man who has built a name for himself by bowling over washed-up MMA fighters and picking on an old and frail Mike Tyson can’t hold a win over Anthony Joshua, could he? Luckily, this is not the first time Joshua has carried the reputation of the sport on his shoulders.
“I'm carrying boxing on my back, I've done it with the Francis Ngannou fight, and I'm going to do it again,” he said. “I understand the expectation, I don't carry it because the expectation I have on myself is already enough. But I understand it, I acknowledge it, and I respect it. That's about it as far as outside concerns about this fight.”
So after all the stick from fans, and jibes that he’ll take a dive, why did Joshua decide to take on the 12-1 (7 KOs) Paul who is yet to register a legitimate win over a ranked boxer?
“Boxing is not such a fun sport if I'm honest, but it was just a great opportunity to get back in the ring and get back to big time business,” he admitted. “People are talking about this fight and that's the whole point of boxing is to make big noise, be in big fights and that's exactly what this opportunity brings. It wasn't so much just for the aspect of let's get back, let's have a bit of fun, let's make some noise, let's get back at the front of the queue, at the front of the race, and show people why we are the leading fighter in the world, and with the best promotional team in the world, and the best training team in the world. We're at the front again and on December 19th we’ll prove why.”
That training team Joshua speaks of is that of Egor Holub, the coach of two-time undisputed heavyweight champion and former foe of Joshua, Oleksandr Usyk. So what has Holub and the rest of Team Usyk changed in Joshua?
“Maybe that I pray more, that's important and I learned that from the team, the importance of prayer,” Joshua revealed. “So yeah, that's important for me. So yeah, I pray more now.”
There has been talk of Joshua’s next steps already, with last week The Ring reporting that Joshua could fight again in February before taking on long-time rival Tyson Fury later in 2026.
“Of course, there's hope, especially when you're talking about doing big time boxing,” said Joshua of a bout with Fury. “And Jake's showcasing it can be done, and I'm showcasing it can be done. I’ve been in mega fights time and time again, this ain't our first rodeo, we're back again, big time boxing. I just feel like it takes two to tango and I'm on the dance floor. I'm just looking for a dance partner.”
For now though, the dance floor belongs to Jake Paul — and Joshua knows that Friday night is about proving he still deserves to be standing at the centre of it.
