Former super middleweight ruler Carl Froch has given his views on the suggestion that Jake Paul is sparring with Lawrence Okolie ahead of his fight with Anthony Joshua.
Paul is a cruiserweight who has had 13 fights, one of which was up at heavyweight, but was against the 58-year-old shell of Mike Tyson, who famously had several health issues.
The rest of his contests have been with other ageing fighters or former MMA stars, and the one loss he has on his record came against Tommy Fury.
He will not only be much less experienced than Joshua, but he will also weigh considerably less, have a shorter reach and nowhere near the same levels of power as the former two-time unified heavyweight ruler.
Speaking to Fighlens, ‘The Cobra’ said he had no belief in the news that Lawrence Okolie was seriously sparring with Paul ahead to the fight on December 19.
“They’re not sparring f****ng Jake Paul. They’re moving around with him, touching him up, a little technical bulls**t. They’re not sparring him. Lawrence Okolie is quite a big puncher. He’s big now. Jake Paul is not good enough to spar them. Let’s see the footage, let’s see the sparring, then I’ll believe it.”
For his part, Joshua – who last fought in September 2024 when he suffered a devastating knockout loss in the fifth round to then IBF ruler Daniel Dubois – has vowed to break Paul’s face, with many thinking the fight should be over inside the first round, given the disparity between the two men.
