B/R Staff Predictions for Jake Paul vs. Anthony Joshua

Yes, this is actually happening.

Former heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua will step into the ring with social-media-influencer-turned-boxer Jake Paul on Friday.

As ridiculous as that reads, one cannot ignore the spectacle. All eyes from the world of combat sports will be on Miami.

The B/R Combat Sports Staff has lined up to provide predictions for the fight. Will Joshua pulverize Paul, or will "The Problem Child" shock the world?

Read our experts' takes on the fight and submit your thoughts in the comments section of the app.

Joshua Will Win and How He Wins Matters

Megan Briggs/Getty Images for Netflix

I'm going to look at this prediction a little differently.

We sure as hell shouldn't be analysing which fighter will stand with his hands aloft at the end of the fight. Joshua will win. The real question, for me, is whether both fighters can do enough to come out looking like they have a serious future in boxing.

For AJ, nothing but brutality will suffice. Think about him turning Wladimir Klitschko into a human Pez dispenser with an uppercut from hell. Or perhaps more relevantly, sniping Francis Ngannou so ferociously that his head and knee aligned before he hit the floor. I am willing to allow one round, absolute maximum, before this needs to happen against Paul. 

Joshua is still ridiculed for losing to Andy Ruiz. The Olympic gold medallist never got going that night, but let's not forget, Ruiz is a quality fighter who has beaten other proven heavyweights. It would be legacy-ending if the same situation happened here.

Paul's 12-1 pro boxing record is padded with MMA fighters, old men, and old MMA fighters. In 2023, he lost to a Love Island winner while Joshua sent Jermaine Franklin, Robert Helenius and Otto Wallin crashing to the canvas. The boxing community has been unfairly represented in this quest to stop Paul becoming legitimate, so now's the time it should get serious.

Let's go back to my original question: What does Jake need to exit this fight with a future in boxing? Honestly, not much at all. Even if Joshua sparks him inside 10 seconds, Paul has the money to draw whoever he wants to the ring. Expect Ngannou somewhere down the line. If Paul loses, he can basically say, 'So what? That guy is an era-defining fighter' before moving on to his next bout.

Joshua appears to have Tyson Fury in his sights. It's years too late, sure, but that remains arguably the biggest fight in boxing. It would take the most embarrassing result in the sport's history to slow momentum towards the UK showdown. You always feel there's half a chance AJ can get hurt in his fights, but come on. Only a generational headloss will see that happen here.

Prediction: Joshua to win via 2nd round TKO.

- Nick Akerman

Jake Gets Rocked Backed Into Reality

Megan Briggs/Getty Images for Netflix

There's got to be a catch, right?

But man, I hope there's not.

Because if Friday's bout is legit and Anthony Joshua is even a fraction of what he's been while taking part in 13 title bouts—and going 9-4 in them—then Jake Paul not only can't win, he might be beaten out of the sport entirely.

And it's not just me who sees it.

Even the most sycophantic Paul follower must be alarmed that the "Problem Child" pivoted from a fight with a 5'5" lightweight to one with "AJ," who, even at age 36 and 21 months past his last victory, is immeasurably more qualified to turn the ex-YouTuber's lights out than any of the senior citizens, has-beens or never-weres with whom he's engaged since starting his assault on the boxing establishment in 2020.

Of course, the conspiracy theorists out there will insist the Brit has been paid a little extra not to hurt his rabble-rousing opponent and to make things look competitive for as long as they last—much like they insisted Mike Tyson, who was 58 years old and hadn't won a fight since Paul was 6, must've done when he met Paul last fall.

Call me naïve, foolish, or simply too blind to see reality, but when Joshua and promoter Eddie Hearn say it's nonsense, I believe them.

While Tyson had been retired and was happy to play along with Paul to snatch an eight-figure payday, Joshua is still an active fighter who began the year ranked among the world's top heavyweights, which means he's still got too much to gain—and too much to lose—to risk his reputation by putting Paul over in a squared-circle circus.

Prediction: Joshua by TKO, Round 3

- Lyle Fitzsimmons

Jake Needs a Miracle

Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images

Jake Paul is not going to win this fight. The only way he leaves the ring with anything resembling a victory is if the much-discussed interstellar comet that is supposed to fly safely by Earth on the same day as the fight suddenly veers off course and lands squarely on top of Anthony Joshua. That's it. There’s no other way.

Joshua is way bigger. Joshua is way stronger. Joshua is—most importantly—vastly more skilled. He holds every advantage worth discussing, to the point that even the idea that Paul has "a puncher's chance" does not warrant so much as a passing mention. 

Having said all that, I've got to give Paul some credit. As much as I love watching boxing, I love learning it even more, and it's obvious Paul shares that passion. If the recent clips of him in the gym are any indication, he has taken some huge strides in the lead-up to this fight.

The main things I've noticed are his footwork and hand positioning. There was one clip in particular I saw somewhere on social media the other day that actually stopped me mid-scroll (I have the attention span of a housefly, so that does not happen a lot). The haters can hate it all they want, but he is turning into a pretty good boxer. 

Unfortunately, he's still nowhere near good enough. He is so grotesquely outmatched in this fight that there are only two questions we should be asking ourselves. First: how long can he survive? Second: if he survives more than three or four rounds through anything other than Joshua's charity, then why? I'm not going to say it point-blank, but if Paul is still standing by the halfway point of this fight, well… Some suspicion will be justified. 

As for how I actually see it all happening? Joshua should send Paul flying into space—maybe on the same trajectory as that comet I mentioned—in the first couple of minutes. If AJ is feeling generous or simply wants to give Netflix subscribers more than a few minutes of viewing, maybe it lasts two or three rounds. 

Let's say it's somewhere in the middle. 

Prediction: Joshua by KO, Rd. 2

- Tom Taylor