Boxing

Frank Warren Makes Bleak Anthony Joshua Prediction Before Jake Paul Fight

Frank Warren of Queensberry Promotions addressed what's at sake for Anthony Joshua in his fight against Jake Paul.
Grant Young|
Frank Warren during a press conference at the Guildhall, London on October 23, 2024.
Frank Warren during a press conference at the Guildhall, London on October 23, 2024. | IMAGO / PA Images

Boxing fans and analysts seem to have conflicting opinions about what's at stake for Olympic gold medalist and former two-time heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua in his upcoming fight against Jake Paul.

One argument is that Joshua has nothing to lose against Paul. He is going to be a gigantic favorite, which is the byproduct of his having a massive size and experience advantage over the former YouTuber. Not to mention that he's receiving one of the biggest paydays of his prestigious boxing career for a fight that he probably doesn't need to train all that much for.

But there's also a case to be made that Joshua is in a lose-lose situation against Paul for these same reasons. Since the entire boxing world expects Joshua to beat Paul, nobody is going to praise him for doing so. And if he isn't able to dispatch Paul in the first couple of rounds, Joshua will subject himself to a lot of criticism.

Anthony Joshua
IMAGO / PA Images

Frank Warren Gets Honest About Anthony Joshua Fighting Jake Paul

While Queensberry Promotions founder Frank Warren has never promoted Joshua, he has something at stake with Joshua fighting Paul, given that a poor performance from Joshua could mean a 2026 bout against Tyson Fury (who Warren does promote) would be off the table.

This is why it was fascinating to hear Warren talking about Jake vs. Joshua during a November 26 article from Sky Sports.

"If [Joshua] looks bad against Jake Paul, when you consider the experience he has and what Jake Paul's got, then I think he should turn it in," Warren said. "I come from a traditional background in boxing and the bottom line of it, you think a good big 'un will beat a good little 'un. Well, AJ didn't look so good in his last fight, he got absolutely taken apart by Daniel Dubois."

He later added, "Jake Paul, he's had 13 fights, that's it. He's stepping up. Everybody's accusing him of ducking people. What you've got to take into consideration is Jake Paul is actually in the gym, has been training and is now and has been a licensed boxer. It's a massive, massive step up for him; it's a massive step up. Fighting a natural heavyweight, a big guy, a two-time heavyweight world champion, Olympic gold medalist, all that, it's a massive, massive first step up, and he'll go in as a big underdog, a big, big underdog.

"But everyone will be watching it. I liken it to a car crash. [People] will buy into it, and they'll watch it and it'll do big, big numbers," Warren concluded.

The fact that Warren believes Joshua could retire if he doesn't perform well against Paul is a bleak prediction about the former champion's future, especially because it would mean a long-awaited clash against Fury would never come to fruition.

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Grant Young
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Grant Young is a Staff Writer for On SI’s Boxing, New York Mets, Indiana Fever, and Women’s Fastbreak sites. Before joining SI in 2024, he wrote for various boxing and sports verticals such as FanBuzz and NY Fights. Young has a bachelor’s degree in marketing and a master’s degree in creative writing with an emphasis on sports nonfiction from the University of San Francisco, where he played five seasons of Division 1 baseball. He fought Muay Thai professionally in Thailand in 2023, loves a good essay, and is driven crazy trying to handle a pitpull puppy named Aura. Young lives in San Diego and was raised in the San Francisco Bay Area.