Boxing

Jake Paul Reveals Why Anthony Joshua Can’t Knock Him Out

Jake Paul made several bold claims about his upcoming bout against Anthony Joshua.
Grant Young|
IMAGO / NurPhoto

There are now nine days until Jake Paul and Anthony Joshua meet in the boxing ring in the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida. While many boxing fans couldn't believe this fight was actually occurring once it was announced, all indications show that this bout is indeed going down.

Outside of a concern for Paul's health, perhaps the biggest worry about this fight is that there's some sort of private or unspoken clause that Joshua is going to carry Paul through the fight, or at least not knock him out in the first couple of rounds. While this is absurd because of how it would impact Joshua's legacy, there's no doubt some believe this is the case.

Anthony Joshua
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Jake Paul Gets Blunt About Anthony Joshua Fight

Jake Paul was the guest on a December 10 episode of The Pat McAfee Show and admitted that he doesn't believe Joshua can knock him out, albeit not for the reasons many want to believe.

When asked whether the fight is going to end in a knockout one way or another, Paul said, "I don't think [Joshua] can knock me out because he's not gonna be able to line up his shots properly, to be able to land the hard punch. I think it's gonna be a very tough fight for multiple rounds, but then when I figure out his pacing, his style, his speed, his footwork, he's gonna get a little bit tired trying to chase me around.

"And then I'm gonna set up the shot. I'm not gonna say exactly what, but I see what it is, and I think it will end in the fifth or sixth round," Paul added with a wry smile.

At another point in the interview, Paul was asked what went into the decision to fight Joshua, and he said, "I see a lot of paths to victory in his style, and styles make fights. We all know that. He has lost to guys who are shorter mostly, and lighter, mostly, and faster than him. I see holes in his game, I see punches I can land that can hurt him.

"Now, we can definitely land punches on me, knock me out. He's more experienced, an Olympic gold medalist, two-time heavyweight champion of the world. This is definitely insane. I have to fight a perfect fight to be able to beat this guy. But I think I'm capable of that," Jake continued, per an X post from McAfee.

"And to me, at the end of the day, all of this is experience, all of this is fun, all of this is getting in there and continuing to improve my skills as I work toward a world championship in my own weight class."

Nobody can claim Paul has a lack of confidence.

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Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

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.