Anthony Joshua‘s discussions about a fight with Jake Paul have drawn the ire of many rivals and fans.
Paul is still a relative novice who has fought just 13 times, and mostly against former MMA fighters and ageing boxers, including Mike Tyson and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr, both of whom he has beaten in his last two outings.
Joshua, though coming off a KO loss to Daniel Dubois, is a former two-time world champion with huge advantages when it comes to size, reach, power and experience. Paul’s team has confirmed that talks are ongoing for the fight.
Speaking to Box Nation, former Olympian Tony Yoka expressed his dismay at the idea of the two clashing in the ring.
“That’s b******t. I can’t believe it. You can’t make me believe that Anthony Joshua is going to fight Jake Paul, like, why? Joshua does not need money; he’s the fighter who makes the most. Everybody knows he’s the one. Joshua is still good for a heavyweight; he is 35, 36 years old, you can’t tell me he is going to fight Jake Paul. What’s the point? I can’t believe it.”
He was then asked how a fight with ‘AJ’ would go, having been linked with it in recent days.
“I guess you’ve got to wait to see it. Call them and tell them you want to see this fight. I think it’s going to be an interesting match. I can swear to you 100% of people will be shocked that night. I know my place is up there [on that level].”
Yoka has lost three of his 17 contests so far, and they came in a row between May 2022 and December 2023 against Martin Bakole, Carlos Takam and Ryad Merhy, but he has won three in a row since then and recently penning a deal with Frank Warren’s Queensberry is likely to give him fresh motivation to realise his potential. As well as Joshua, he has been linked with Joe Joyce in what would be a rematch from their Olympics campaigns.
