Heavyweight great Mike Tyson has made an important admission about the punching power of Jake Paul ahead of the controversial match-up between ‘The Problem Child’ and Anthony Joshua.
Two-time unified heavyweight champion ‘AJ’ is set to face Paul over eight rounds at the Kaseya Center in Miami on December 19, the latest high-profile boxing event to be exclusively shown on Netflix.
Joshua has not fought since he suffered the fourth defeat of his professional career to former IBF world heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois at Wembley Stadium in September 2024.
As for Paul, the 28-year-old made his return to the ring back in June when he outpointed former WBC middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr at the conclusion of their cruiserweight bout in California.
Prior to facing Chavez, Paul locked horns with former undisputed heavyweight champion Tyson in November 2024, a heavily-criticised clash that rightly or wrongly captured the attention of millions around the world.
Paul won the fight by unanimous decision after eight rounds, and speaking to FOX Sports after the showdown, Tyson acknowledged the punching power of ‘The Problem Child’, as he claims his former rival made his ‘body hurt’ following their controversial meeting.
“I don’t remember it, but my body, my chest, stomach and stuff was really sore … Jake punches hard. My body hurt so bad.”
It has been confirmed by Most Valuable Promotions that Joshua vs. Paul is a sanctioned professional bout, with both fighters required to wear 10oz gloves on fight night.
Paul appears to be full of confidence heading into the fight however, revealing in a press conference last week that he believes he is capable of defeating the hard-hitting Brit by stoppage in a bold claim.
