A long-term rival of Anthony Joshua has made a sensational claim about the upcoming meeting between ‘AJ’ and Jake Paul.
Two-time world heavyweight champion Joshua is set to face Paul in an eight round sanctioned professional bout on Friday December 19 at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida.
It will be Joshua’s first ring appearance in over 12 months after he suffered the fourth defeat of his career to countryman and former IBF heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois in September 2024.
YouTube sensational Paul made his return to action back in June when he outpointed former WBC middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr at the Honda Center in Anaheim.
Whilst the controversial showdown between Joshua and Paul was confirmed to be a sanctioned professional bout, former WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder does not believe that this is the case.
Speaking to ESNEWS, Wilder sensationally claimed that he believes Joshua’s return to the ring against Paul is actually going to be scripted as he claims the fight was made solely for ‘entertainment’.
“Just because they say it’s a real fight, that makes it a real fight? What makes it a real fight? For me, with a situation like this, I think it’s entertainment. I think it’s exhibition style stuff. For me, I think it’s scripted. We’re going to see.”
Paul’s promotional company, MVP, has come out strongly against such claims.
Paul appears to have taken his preparations very seriously during the build up after he drafted in a number of world ranked heavyweight sparring partners, including two-weight world champion Lawrence Okolie.
Joshua is expected to produce a routine victory against the 28-year-old however, with his sights firmly set on returning to the world heavyweight title picture in 2026.
