A legendary heavyweight from a golden era who beat Larry Holmes, Lennox Lewis and Evander Holyfield is the latest to have his say on Anthony Joshua‘s fight with Jake Paul.
This coming together of two big names in the sport is one of the most talked-about events of the year, but not necessarily for the right reasons.
For one, he is a naturally much smaller and shorter man, even though Joshua will not be allowed to weigh more than 245lbs.
He has also had just 13 fights against low-level opposition, while Joshua is a former two-time unified champion of the world who has knocked out some of the sport’s biggest names across a storied 32-fight career, having also won Gold at the London Olympics in 2012.
The latest to weigh in on the matter is Ray Mercer, the American who won gold at the Olympics in 1988 and won the WBO title in 1991 before sharing the ring with some of the sport’s most legendary names.
Speaking to USA Today, he gave Paul some credit but not enough to give him any sort of chance in the fight.
“I think he can actually box, but just not on the level of the people that he’s boxing. You know what I’m saying? If he joined a tournament like the Golden Gloves or something like that, he might do good. But the people that he’s fighting, all the champions and all that, I mean, come on.”
The fight takes place over 8 rounds with 10 oz gloves and is a fully sanctioned professional bout, with many expecting nothing less than a first-round KO from Joshua.
