Jake Paul and Anthony Joshua will square off in one of the strangest but biggest boxing matches in recent memory tonight, as they meet in a professional fight in Miami.
That means knockouts are allowed and the result will go on each man’s pro record, as Joshua – a former two-time world heavyweight champion – faces the YouTuber-turned-boxer across eight three-minute rounds. Both fighters will be wearing standard 10oz gloves, and Joshua, 36, came under fire this week for saying: “If I can kill you, I will kill you.”
The Briton later clarified, “That’s my job, we fight. We have a licence to kill. Many people don’t understand it,” with those words coming after criticism from his compatriot Tyson Fury – as the pair remain linked to a long-awaited showdown. In any case, Paul has remained defiant; the American, 28, has even claimed to be a better boxer than “AJ”.
Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn previously denied that this heavyweight fight, which has a reported purse of $184m, is scripted, saying: “It’s illegal to have a script when there’s a professional, sanctioned contest [and] do you think I would sign up to something that might make AJ look bad or go [for multiple] rounds?”