Anthony Joshua Makes Bold Predictions for Jake Paul Fight, 'Going to Break His Face'

Former two-time unified heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua spoke Friday in Miami about his plans to defeat Jake Paul in their upcoming heavyweight bout.

"I'm going to break his face," Joshua said during Friday's pre-fight press conference, per Sports Illustrated's Chris Mannix. "I'm going to break his body up. I'm going to stomp all over him."

Paul, for his part, said he planned to knock out Joshua "in the fourth or fifth round."

Joshua also said he has been preparing for the fight by training with Team Usyk in Spain, per The Athletic's Luke Brown.

The eight-round bout is set to stream on Netflix on Dec. 19 at 8 p.m. ET.

Joshua also told the audience he was taking Paul "seriously" as an opponent, and that the YouTuber-turned-boxer was "better than Tyson Fury."

Joshua's most recent fight took place in September 2024, when he lost in a fifth-round knockout to Daniel Dubois in London. He said he has undergone surgery on his elbow in his time away from the ring, per Brown.

He most recently won against former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou with a second-round knockout in March 2024.

Joshua said Friday his win over Ngannou had been "completely different" from his matchup with Paul, per Brown.

"Ngannou wasn't a boxer. Jake Paul is," Joshua said, per Brown. "It will be different. But I want to go in there and really hurt him."

Jake Paul meanwhile told the audience he planned to rely on his "delusional optimism" to beat the most challenging opponent of his boxing career.

He also said he wanted it to be him, not Joshua, who took on Tyson Fury in 2026.

"No one thinks I'm going to win, so join the list and be ready to be shocked," Paul said.

Paul continued, "I'm knocking this guy out, becoming the CEO of Matchroom Boxing, and changing the plans. And it's going to be me versus Tyson Fury next year."

Joshua (28-4, 25 KOs) held the WBO, IBF and WBA heavyweight belts from March 2018 to July 2019, and again from December 2019 to September 2021.

The biggest fight for Paul (12-1, 7 KOs) most recently claimed a unanimous decision win over Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. in June. He previously called the upcoming bout with Joshua the "biggest fight of my career."