Anthony Joshua and Jake Paul are just one day away from their controversial heavyweight clash.
Two-time unified heavyweight champion ‘AJ’ is set to lock horns with Paul over eight rounds at the Kaseya Center in Miami on Friday night.
It will be Joshua’s first return to the ring since he suffered a shock fifth round stoppage defeat to former IBF heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois in September 2024.
Prior to that, AJ had claimed victories over fighters such as Wladimir Klitschko, Joseph Parker and Andy Ruiz in world title fights, showing exactly the monumental task that Paul has ahead of him on fight night.
Prior to agreeing to face Joshua, ‘The Problem Child’ had spent some time sparring unbeaten WBC lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson, who had been in Paul’s camp ahead of his cancelled bout with Gervonta Davis.
Speaking on The Ariel Helwani Show, Stevenson claimed that whilst he doesn’t expect the bout to go the distance, he says he is backing Paul to survive the opening round despite being faced with such a huge task.
“I can’t tell you if [Jake] survives [eight rounds], but I know he survives the first round.”
Paul was last in action on June 28 when he produced arguably the best win of his career to date against former WBC middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr at the Honda Center in Anaheim.
The 28-year-old from Phoenix appears to be brimming with confidence heading into his showdown with Joshua, although many believe he is taking it a step too far on this occasion.
