Tag: Joshua

YouTube star Jake Paul will face former world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua in Miami next month,  according to Matchroom Boxing.

The fight between the YouTuber-turned-boxer and Joshua, the 36-year-old former two-time unified world champion, will take place at the Kaseya Center in Florida on December 19.

The fight, which will be streamed live on Netflix, will consist of eight three-minute rounds, with the boxers using 10-ounce gloves.

America’s Paul, 28, who has a 12-1 record, beat heavyweight great Mike Tyson in Texas in November 2024.

He claimed a unanimous-decision win over Julio Cesar Chavez Jr in June and had been set to take on Gervonta Davis this month before the fight was cancelled after a civil lawsuit was filed against the WBA lightweight champion.

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 “This isn’t an AI simulation, this is judgment day,” said Paul. “A professional heavyweight fight against an elite world champion in his prime. When I beat Anthony Joshua, every doubt disappears and no one can deny me the opportunity to fight for a world title.

 “To all my haters, this is what you wanted. To the people of the United Kingdom, I am sorry. On Friday, December 19, under the lights in Miami… the torch gets passed and Britain’s Goliath gets put to sleep.”

Joshua, who has not fought since being stopped by British compatriot Daniel Dubois at Wembley in September last year in their IBF title bout, said it was a “big opportunity”.

“Whether you like it or not, I’m here to do massive numbers, have big fights and break every record whilst keeping cool, calm and collected,” he said.

 “Mark my words, you’ll see a lot more fighters take these opportunities in the future. I’m about to break the internet over Jake Paul’s face.”

Tyson Fury has been told the “only fight” left for him after his unanimous points decision defeat in a world heavyweight boxing title bout with champion Oleksandr Usyk is an all-British clash against Anthony Joshua.

Fury, like Joshua a former world heavyweight champion, was beaten on all three judges’ scorecards by 116-112 at the end of his second consecutive defeat by Usyk, the WBA, WBC and WBO title-holder.

The 36-year-old Fury refused to say if he would fight on following Saturday’s loss in Riyadh, saying “who knows?” when asked if he would extend his career.

But Eddie Hearn, Joshua’s promoter, believes a ‘Battle of Britain’ clash at Wembley could still be a sell-out fight even though his fighter is also coming off a loss – Joshua was knocked out by IBF champion Daniel Dubois in October.

“The reality is there’s only one fight for Tyson Fury and that’s Anthony Joshua. It’s the biggest fight in the history of British boxing and everyone will want to see it,” Hearn told DAZN.

“That wasn’t a Tyson Fury who looked finished. It wasn’t a flat performances. It wasn’t a poor performance. He didn’t look gun shy or like his punch resistance was in question.”

Hearn added: “Tyson Fury is still potentially at the peak of his powers, just not good enough to beat Oleksandr Usyk.

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“For me AJ against Fury is the one. One at Wembley and then back out here for Riyadh season. I will be pushing his excellency (Saudi Arabia’s boxing powerbroker Turki Alalshikh) to make the fight.”

Fury was convinced he had won, while his promoter, Frank Warren, said he was “dumbfounded” by the scoring on Saturday.

Despite conceding four stone (25kg) in weight and six inches (15cm) in height, the impressive Usyk landed more and better punches with greater accuracy than Fury.

“Thanks to everyone who came and supported me,” said Fury.

“We move on. We go now into a new year and whatever that brings, we’ll see.

“The fight’s done now, it’s in the past. I’ve not got a decision. It is what it is and we move on. I’ll go home to my family. I’ve not seen my kids for 12 weeks.

“You can’t change decisions, I’ve done the best could. If I could have done any more then I would have done. And that’s it.”

Joseph Parker has put his name in the hat for a shot at IBF heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois on February 22.Dubois and Anthony Joshua looked set for a rematch of their Wembley battle in Saudi Arabia early next year. But last week Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn cast doubt on whether ‘AJ’ will be ready despite the date being agreed with Saudi boxing power broker Turki Alalshikh.

Joshua and Dubois both gave the green light to Alalshikh for a rematch and the Saudi boss wants it on February 22. A Queensberry against Matchroom 5v5 event is being lined up as part of the undercard.

If Joshua doesn’t sign for the fight then he could be out of the IBF picture for some time. Dubois is allowed a voluntary challenger in February so can face anyone in the IBF’s top 15 but in April a mandatory will be called. That will be the winner of Martin Bakole’s final eliminator against Agit Kabayel, which is going out to purse bids.

Joshua could wait to see the outcome of Tyson Fury’s rematch with WBA, WBO and WBC champion Oleksandr Usyk on December 21. He has been told that there is still potential of a Fury fight next year but if the Gypsy King was to become champion again it would be problematic as the sanctioning bodies may not allow Joshua a shot.

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Meanwhile, Parker has put himself forward for the February 22 date. The New Zealand fighter has not been in the ring since he beat Zhilei Zhang back in March. But the Kiwi puncher is currently training with coach Andy Lee in Dublin and has spoken with Spencer Brown, one of the figures involved with Alalshikh to signal his interest in the bout.

Parker lost to Joshua back in 2018 when he was WBO champion but has rebuilt his career since then.

Joshua could still decide to face Dubois but he will be told a decision will need to be made in the next fortnight.

Meanwhile, former IBF flyweight champion Sunny Edwards has split from trainer Grant Smith in Sheffield. Edwards is preparing for a November 30 date with former amateur team-mate and Olympic gold medallist Galal Yafai in Birmingham. The 28-year-old will now work with Liverpool-based coach Chris Williams.

Daniel Dubois retained his IBF heavyweight championship and sent a message to the whole division with a fifth-round knockout win over Anthony Joshua at Wembley Stadium in London, England.

Dubois let it be known from the jump that he wasn’t to be taken lightly. He came out aggressively in the first round, putting a jab in Joshua’s face and following up with pressure.

Joshua did not have much to offer in return. A lackadaisical retreat to the ropes opened up an opportunity for Dubois to belt him with a looping right hand that scored a knockdown and stunned the massive Wembley crowd.

The Dubois domination carried through the opening round. The third round featured a wild moment where the champion forced the referee to rule a knockdown after initially missing that Joshua’s gloves were down.

Dubois came into this bout as the champion, but he was also playing the role of underdog. Joshua is a two-time world champion who was on a four-fight win streak aftert back-to-back losses to Oleksandr Usyk.

Meanwhile, the 27-year-old was putting in his own work to bounce back from a loss to Usyk. Dubois got a crack at Usyk’s titles in 2023 but was turned away with a ninth-round knockout loss.

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Since then, he’s bounced back with TKO wins over Jarell Miller and Filip Hrgovic before this monumental victory over Joshua.

For Dubois, it’s been6 about reclaiming his spot among the elite in the division.

“I need to retain it and hold on to it. I need to legitimize myself by winning this fight,” Dubois told James Regan of ESPN. “It’s a resurrection story of my career. I just want the biggest challenges and make a name for myself and create history.”

If Dubois is going to seek the biggest challenges then he’s assuredly going to be paying attention when Usyk and Tyson Fury meet in December.

Fury and Usyk fought to a split decision in May. Usyk won to become the undisputed heavyweight championship before the IBF stripped him of the belt and awarded it to Dubois.

Anthony Joshua will face fellow Briton Daniel Dubois for the IBF heavyweight title at Wembley Stadium on 21 September.

Undisputed champion Oleksandr Usyk vacated the belt on Tuesday and interim champion Dubois, 26, was elevated to champion status as a result.

Two-time world champion Joshua, 34, is on a four-fight winning streak and has three stoppages in his past three bouts.

Dubois has won his past two fights, stopping Jarrell Miller in December and Filip Hrgovic this month to become interim champion.

Ukrainian Usyk initially requested that he not be stripped of the IBF belt so the undisputed title could remain on the line when he faces Britain’s Tyson Fury in a rematch on 21 December, but then changed his mind.

“Anthony and Daniel, I know the IBF title is important to you. It is my present to you on 21 September,” Usyk said in a video message on X.

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Dubois lost in controversial fashion to Usyk in August in his first bid to win a world title.

Dubois floored Usyk in the fifth round with what the referee deemed a low blow, before losing by stoppage in the ninth.

Dubois has won 21 of his 23 fights, while Joshua has 28 victories and three losses. They have a combined 45 knockouts.

It will be  the first time since Fury’s win over Dillian Whyte in December 2022 that Wembley will host boxing.

Joshua will be making his fourth appearance there – and third as a headliner – while Dubois will fight in a main event at a 60,000-plus venue for the first time.

The winner will put themselves in prime position to fight the winner of Usyk-Fury.

Tyson Fury vs. Anthony Joshua have been given a reality check by former heavyweight champion Buster Douglas.

The domestic rivals have now both suffered defeats to Oleksandr Usyk as Fury lost out on the chance to become undisputed heavyweight champion in their historic fight last month. ‘AJ’ lost his unified belts to Usyk three years ago and failed to win them back in their 2022 rematch.

And Douglas, who stunned Mike Tyson in 1990 in the biggest upset in heavyweight history, wouldn’t rank Fury and Joshua in the top 30 heavyweights of his era. 

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“I speak to my trainer about today’s heavyweights and he has a low opinion of them and says they [Fury and AJ] wouldn’t have been in the top 30 in my era, I have to agree,” he told The Gambling Zone. “They have skills, but as far as endurance, I don’t know. They don’t seem to be able to withstand power and aggressiveness.”

Joshua is expected to fight Daniel Dubois in September at Wembley Stadium for the IBF heavyweight world title, which Usyk currently holds but will likely be stripped of in the coming weeks. That means the undisputed world titles won’t be on the line for Fury and Usyk’s second fight which is scheduled for December 21.

Should Fury and Joshua win their respective fights, they could clash next year – with Douglas backing Joshua to overcome his fellow Brit. “Right now I think AJ beats Fury,” he added. “It’s not that Fury is on the decline, he just no longer has that strength to withstand that force. Once you start putting your punches together, he tends to get weak as the fight goes on and his power levels start faltering. It’s a strong possibility that AJ would knock Fury out, I think he would.

“He would definitely take Fury out. It would not go the distance, AJ would knock him out. And AJ-Usyk is right now also a good one. I’d say AJ beats Fury and AJ Usyk is 50-50. AJ is looking like he’s on mission and he’s finally got it together and he’s changed some things.”

Anthony Joshua is in line to fight the winner between Tyson Fury or Oleksandr Usyk for the undisputed heavyweight title.

Usyk shared 12 classic rounds with Fury on May 18 in Saudi Arabia to claim all four WBC, WBA, IBF and WBO belts.

And they prepare to rematch on December 21 back in Riyadh in what Saudi boxing kingmaker Turki Alalshikh hopes will be for all the titles again.

So AJ will instead return in September at Wembley with Daniel Dubois – fresh off a big win over Filip Hrgovic – the frontrunner for the stadium bout.

Dubois, 26, is expected to defend his IBF ‘interim’ belt and mandatory status for the full title now owned by Usyk, 37.

So the winner between Dubois and Joshua, 34, will be next in line for the belts with the WBC, WBA and WBO, behind in the queue.

And promoter Eddie Hearn confirmed to SunSport that a trilogy fight between Fury and Usyk – even if the score is levelled – is unlikely.

So it would clear the path for Joshua to challenge the victor for the belts if he beats whoever welcomes him back to Britain later in the year.

He said: “I expect the winner of the December fight to fight Anthony Joshua, if he wins in September.

“There’s no decision yet made on the opponent, there’s three or four in the mix. But yeah, that’s the absolute plan.

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“The first priority is to regain the world heavyweight title and obviously undisputed always been the dream.

“So I think we’re two fights away from becoming undisputed. But, we’ve got to win them.”

Standing in Joshua’s way first will be Dubois, who has vowed to “demolish” his fellow Brit.

He said: “That’s what I’ve been hearing [that Joshua could be next], so let’s see.

“[Being world champion] is a dream.

“From challenging for the world title to getting the chance to win the damn thing outright, that’s what I want.

“I’ll demolish Joshua. I’ll get even better from here.”

AJ will not take his compatriot likely, and has said: “I’ve got to pick them off one by one. It’s not going to be easy, but that’s my mentality. So come one, come all…

“He [Dubois] has been in tougher fights, so he becomes hardened. He has worked his way up the ladder, we’ll see what happens in the near future.

“Wembley, O2, York Hall – wherever they put me, I’m happy to fight. Any venue, I’ll turn up and do my job.”