One of Anthony Joshua’s former opponents has urged Jake Paul to pull out of their upcoming fight unless he wants his boxing career ‘ended’.
Joshua, one of the best fighters of his generation, and Paul, a YouTuber-turned-boxer, will go head-to-head on Friday night in a fight streamed live on Netflix.
Paul, who has a professional record of 12 wins and one defeat, was due to fight Gervonta Davis last month but the show was cancelled after a lawsuit was filed against ‘Tank’ by his ex-girlfriend.
‘The Problem Child’ was in talks with a number of opponents as a replacement and a fight with two-time heavyweight champion Joshua was surprisingly confirmed.
Joshua beat all-time great Wladimir Klitschko earlier in his career and lost twice on points to current heavyweight champion of the world Oleksandr Usyk.
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Given Joshua’s pedigree, a fight with Paul looks like a massive mismatch and Otto Wallin would be surprised if the bout goes beyond the first round.
‘Don’t do the fight,’ Wallin, who fought AJ two years ago, said in a message to Paul, who has over 20 million subscribers on YouTube.
‘I’m so surprised if this fight goes ahead. And I feel like the weight limit is a little bit cringy because it’s a heavyweight fight.
‘But still, Joshua should be way too good, way too strong and fast for Jake Paul and have too much experience. So I’m just so surprised that Jake is taking this fight.
‘He goes from Tank Davis to Joshua, which is crazy. I don’t understand why he does it, but maybe he wants the respect saying that he fought Joshua, but it might end his career. Maybe, maybe he’s fed up with boxing.’
Discussing how the fight could pan out, Wallin added to Hajper: ‘Personally, I think that AJ will just try and knock him out.
‘Because my thinking is that Joshua has been knocked out before by Ruiz and Dubois, so I think that he doesn’t want to take any chances and he knows if something happens against Jake Paul, then it’s terrible for him and his career.
‘So I honestly think that he’s just going to go out trying to take him out just like he did Ngannou. I think Jake is gonna try to survive.
‘He’s gonna try to survive, but as soon as Joshua corners him and hits him and throws combinations that he can, he’s gonna take him out. Logically, it doesn’t go past the first round.’
Former British heavyweight David Haye also fears for Paul and says a quick finish is the best he can hope for as he prepares to step into the ring with Joshua.
‘It is a very easy fight for AJ in regards to the other options on the table,’ Haye told Metro, speaking as a brand ambassador for HighBet.
‘This isn’t Tyson Fury, this isn’t even Francis Ngannou, this is a cruiserweight who has had 13 fights, losing one to Tommy Fury.
‘AJ is an amateur champion, an Olympic gold medallist, a two-time heavyweight champion of the world.
‘This is a completely different proposition for Jake Paul and I give him absolutely no chance. The fight goes as long as AJ wants it too.’
The controversial Netflix fight, which features eight three-minute rounds with 10-ounce gloves, will take place at the Kaseya Center in Miami on Friday night.
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