For all the eye-rolling with which the bout is met, the Anthony Joshua vs Jake Paul fight will happen on December 19 at the Kaseya Centre in Miami, Florida. No one surmised that for his first fight in fifteen months, the former two-time unified heavyweight champion would be taking on a YouTuber turned boxer. It was not even on the cards until early November, when Paul pulled the plug on the scheduled clash with Gervonta Davis after domestic violence charges were filed against the lightweight world champion by his ex-partner.

Two weeks was all it took, after Netflix broke Joshua out of his obligation with DAZN to become the official broadcaster. Unlike the earlier scheduled bout between Paul and Davis, this is not going to be an exhibition fight, even if comparing both fighters alone does little to suggest a serious contest. Credentials aside, Joshua stood an imposing 6’6″ over Paul, who listed at 6’0″ at the face-off press conference. The last time he fought a considerably smaller boxer was Michael Sprott, a 6’1″ opponent he dispatched in one round over a decade ago. Sure, Joshua has lost to shorter fighters, notably a  6’1’’ Andy Ruiz Jr. (whom he later got the better of), but the chances of a shocker happening on December 19 are a bit difficult to entertain.  

Joshua has contested 43 amateur fights and 32 professional fights, 17 of which were for international or world heavyweight titles. Comparatively, Paul has just 13 fights on his professional record, many of which are against boxing amateurs, former UFC fighters or retired boxers, which conspicuously includes Mike Tyson, whom he defeated. The Brit has proven to be one of the best fighters of his generation, but no one, certainly not himself, is proud of his current profile, which remains marred by the devastating knockout defeat against fellow Brit Daniel Dubois in September 2024. Anything short of a convincing victory across the eight three-minute rounds against Paul will have untold consequences for Joshua. 

Why then is he taking such a risk?

For one, money. It almost always comes to that, and for a good reason in this case. According to reports, both AJ and Paul are in line to pocket around £50 million each for the fight. For Paul, it will be his career-best return yet, while it will be about £10m shy of Joshua’s career-high payday against Andy Ruiz. Getting this amount of returns, during an all-time low stretch in his career, for a fight that is largely expected to pose little threat, definitely counts for a lot. 

Added to the huge money factor is that the bout will also offer a fitting runway for the Brit’s pushback to relevance in 2026.

At the moment, a blockbuster double header is expected of Joshua in 2026: a return to Riyadh in February against an unconfirmed opponent, with September reserved for what is likely to be Tyson Fury. Regardless of who the opponents turn out to be, Joshua cannot afford to turn up rusty, especially since he has not been tested since undergoing an elbow surgery in May 2025. Consider these factors, and the bout with Paul does not seem all that puzzling, with the huge financial incentive and the less arduous route of slipping back into public consciousness after more than a year out. Just as his super promoter Eddie Hearn foresees, “The clever thing about this deal is that overnight we are back as the hottest thing in boxing. And once we smash Jake Paul in December, we will be one hundred per cent, unquestionably the hottest thing in boxing.”