Jake Paul knew Anthony Joshua was willing to fight the YouTuber-turned-boxer after the pair shared a brief phone call earlier this year.

Back in March, Paul stunned the world of boxing after he called for a fight with the two-time heavyweight world champion – just four months after his victory over Mike Tyson. “I want to fight Anthony Joshua because I know I will f***ing beat Anthony Joshua’s ass,” he said on his YouTube show BS with Jake Paul. “He doesn’t have a chin and he has no skill and he’s stiff. I love you, Anthony, we’re friends and all this s*** but I want to fight you. I will beat Canelo, I will beat a lot of f***ing people.”

‘AJ’ responded by phoning the 28-year-old and both fighters ended up posting images of the phone call with the caption ‘2026,’ hinting at a potential clash. Despite verbally agreeing to a dust-up, their fight will come a lot sooner than people think after it was confirmed that the two fighters will trade leather on December 19 in Miami.

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Eight months after both men exchanged words over the phone, Paul has finally revealed exactly what was said on the call. “No, he was down. I messaged and said ‘let’s fight. Let’s make it happen. Our teams are going to talk.’ And he was like ‘yeah, I am down. Let’s do it.’ Simple as that.” He added: “We talked even before Gevonta Davis and he said yes then. Really, after Gervonta, we called a bunch of people and he is the one that said yes and was actually down to do it in December.”

The ‘Problem Child’ was due to return to the ring earlier this month against lightweight king Gervonta Davis, but was forced to cancel the event after ‘Tank’ was accused of battery, false imprisonment and kidnapping by an ex-girlfriend. Paul has not fought since his convincing victory over Julio Cesar Chavez Jr back in June, and was eager to get at least one more fight under his belt before the end of the year.

After calling out several stars within the sport of boxing, it was Joshua who accepted the call. Despite the huge disparity in size, the bout will be a professional contest, staged over eight three-minute rounds. The fight will take place at heavyweight, but ‘AJ’ has been informed he cannot weigh more than 245lb for the clash.

Just days after their stunning clash was announced, the two stars met at a launch press conference in Miami. Joshua – who completely and utterly towered over his upcoming foe – vowed to make a statement ahead of his return to the ring. “It’s not a win for me if I just beat him; I need to knock him out,” he said.

“I’m going to break his face and break his body. I’m here to prove I’m the better fighter and will do that until I stop fighting. I’m going to go in there and do a job. I want to hurt him, I’m going to want to really hurt him in the ring. I’m going to come forward and impose myself. I’m going to land heavy punches and expose him to certain tricks in boxing that he maybe hasn’t seen yet. And I’m going to bring him to a different school of boxing that he maybe hasn’t been exposed to yet.”

Jake Paul Says He’s Found Anthony Joshua’s Weakness – His Losses All Share One Thing in Common

Jake Paul has identified what he believes is the fatal flaw in Anthony Joshua’s boxing toolkit ahead of their clash on December 19 in Miami. The YouTuber-turned-professional boxer will face the former two-time unified heavyweight champion in an eight-round bout at the Kaseya Center, with the fight streamed live on Netflix.

Jake Paul Identifies Size and Speed as Anthony Joshua’s Kryptonite Ahead of December Fight

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The size disadvantage Paul faces is undeniable. Joshua typically competes at around 250 pounds as a heavyweight, while Paul usually fights at cruiserweight at around 200 pounds. For their upcoming bout, Joshua is required to weigh no more than 245 pounds. At the recent press conference face-off, the 6-foot-6 Joshua towered visibly over the 6-foot-1 Paul.

Despite this significant physical disadvantage, Paul is convinced he’s identified a pattern in Joshua’s record that suggests he can pull off an upset. According to Paul, Joshua’s losses all share a common thread: they came against smaller, more mobile opponents.

Paul broke down his analysis by referencing Joshua’s recent losses. In 2019, Andy Ruiz Jr. defeated Joshua in their first fight despite giving up significant size, Ruiz stood 6 feet tall compared to Joshua’s 6 feet 6 inches. Joshua avenged that loss in their rematch later that year.

More recently, Joshua suffered a devastating knockout loss to Daniel Dubois in September 2024. Dubois, standing 6 feet 5 inches, is just an inch shorter than Joshua but compensated with superior speed and footwork that left Joshua unable to mount an effective defense.

The Oleksandr Usyk fights also factor into Paul’s theory. Usyk, the Ukrainian unified champion standing 6 feet 3 inches, is considerably smaller than Joshua’s frame yet dominated both fights through superior boxing technique and ring movement rather than size advantage.

Paul explains that Joshua’s weakness emerges against opponents who possess speed and footwork that allows them to neutralize his considerable power advantage. Paul stated the following about what he sees as Joshua’s vulnerability:

“Watching his Dubois fight, the Ruiz fight, even the Usyk fight, he’s lost to guys who are smaller than him. I think his weakness is his kryptonite: faster guys who don’t get hit by his big punches. He’s an amazing fighter, one of the best heavyweights ever, but with speed, footwork, and being in rhythm, I don’t think he can handle that. He doesn’t like that because he is a little stiff. He relies on power. You get hit by one of his shots, you’re cooked, but I believe I’ll be able to float like a butterfly and sting like a bee.”

Paul’s logic builds on observations made by other boxing analysts. Usyk himself noted after their second fight that Joshua failed to capitalize on his size advantage throughout their contest, suggesting the British fighter’s inability to use his physical tools effectively may stem from his defensive approach against faster opponents.

Joshua’s record shows 28 wins and four losses, with 25 of those victories coming by knockout. However, his four defeats have raised questions about his chin and his tactical approach against specific fighting styles. His most recent loss to Dubois was particularly brutal, with Joshua being knocked down four times in five rounds before the fight was stopped.

Jake Paul vs. Anthony Joshua

Paul comes into the December fight with a record of 12 wins and one loss. His sole defeat came against Tommy Fury in February 2023 in Saudi Arabia via split decision. Paul has fought considerably less experienced opposition overall, with his most notable recent win coming against 58-year-old Mike Tyson in May 2025.

The upcoming fight represents a significant gamble for both fighters. Joshua, at 34 years old, is looking to rebuild his legacy after a series of disappointing results. Paul, meanwhile, is attempting to prove he belongs in heavyweight boxing against a genuine elite opponent. Joshua has indicated that anything less than a devastating victory would further damage his standing among top heavyweights.

Paul believes he can exploit what he sees as Joshua’s mechanical limitations. By staying mobile, maintaining rhythm, and using superior footwork, Paul argues he can avoid the power shots that have devastated Joshua’s opponents while accumulating points over the eight three-minute rounds. Whether Paul’s blueprint matches reality when the bell rings on December 19 will determine whether his controversial career in boxing has any legitimacy left.

Jake Paul told Anthony Joshua fight will be cancelled immediately

Ryan Garcia seriously doubts Jake Paul’s heavyweight showdown with Anthony Joshua will take place.

The YouTuber-turned-boxer is expected to face the former two-time heavyweight champion on December 19 in Miami. Their dust-up will be staged over eight three-minute rounds, and both men will don 10oz gloves. Paul – who has not fought since his decision victory over Julio Cesar Chavez Jr back in June – was due to take on Gervonta Davis earlier this month, but was forced to cancel the event after his opponent was accused of battery, false imprisonment and kidnapping by an ex-girlfriend.

Joshua, meanwhile, has been inactive since suffering a brutal knockout loss to Daniel Dubois back in September 2024. The Brit was planning on making a comeback to the ring within the coming months prior to accepting the bout with Paul. Just a few weeks until the pair trade leather, both Joshua and Paul have already had the chance to size each other up after meeting at a press conference in Miami last week.

As the two fighters faced off, many within the boxing community were left stunned by the monumental size disparity. After watching the duo go nose-to-nose, Garcia expressed his reservations over the contest, insisting it would not go ahead. “I seriously doubt this Jake vs Anthony fight takes place. It’s too much of a disadvantage, just don’t make sense. After the press conference that’s apparent,” he wrote.

Paul was left severely enraged by Garcia’s comments, and it did not take him long to hit back at the professional boxer. He said: “What don’t make sense is you fighting for a WBC belt [clash with Mario Barrios] after coming off an a** whooping by Rolly [Romero]. And five other things I could bring up. But hey, that’s no knock on you, you have big… nah you ain’t having big nothing.”

After Paul’s clash with Davis was scrapped, the American issued call-outs of several boxing stars. On his list was Garcia. The pair have traded barbs over the years and the social media sensation was itching to settle the score with the controversial fighter. However, MVP chief Nakisa Bidarian revealed that streaming service DAZN were not willing to let ‘King Ryan’ switch platforms.

“Our provision of services is with Matchroom,” he said. ” We pay Matchroom a sum of money and they present to us that they have obtained the rights to allow AJ to appear on Netflix. We have a great relationship with DAZN; they said no in terms of Ryan Garcia, pretty quickly, but they said yes to AJ.

“My assumption is they believe Jake could beat Ryan Garcia and that wouldn’t have been great for an asset they have in Ryan Garcia. My assumption is they believe AJ is going to kill Jake Paul so they agreed to let it happen.”

When is Anthony Joshua vs Jake Paul?

Anthony Joshua and Jake Paul will clash in Miami on December 19, just six days before Christmas. The pair will likely walk to the ring at around 11pm local time which would be 4am in the UK. Fight times are usually set to benefit the American audience and are subject to change depending on how long the undercard takes to complete. The event is set to be shown live on Netflix.