Paul (12-1, 7 KOs) and Joshua (28-4, 25 KOs) meet in a short-notice showdown following the elimination of Paul’s original opponent, WBA lightweight champion Gervonta Davis, due to Davis’ recurring legal issues.
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Paul vs. Joshua will be contested with 10-ounce gloves in eight three-minute rounds at the Kaseya Center in Miami. Prelims begin at 4:45 pm ET and stream on Netflix’s Tudum platform, while the main card begins at 8 pm ET and streams live on Netflix, free for all subscribers. Main event ring walks are expected around 10:30 pm ET.
Joshua, 36, is far from your run-of-the-mill opponent, Jake Paul. The English superstar is an Olympic champion and one of the most notable heavyweight boxers of this era. Standing at 6-foot-6 and with a gigantic reach of 82 inches, Joshua remains one of the top-ranked heavyweights in the world. He challenged for the IBF world title in his last fight: a September 2024 loss to Daniel Dubois at London’s Wembley Stadium. Before that, Joshua set an example with another boxing interloper, brutally knocking out former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou in less than two rounds in March 2024.
Paul, 28, has irritated many in the fight world since his boisterous entry into professional boxing in 2020, but he has also far exceeded expectations. The former Disney star has defeated a variety of athletes from other sports, including the NBA (Nate Robinson), MMA (Anderson Silva, Nate Diaz, Tyron Woodley, Ben Askren) and bare-knuckle boxing (Mike Perry). More recently, he prevailed in matchups against aging former world boxing champions, defeating Mike Tyson, 58, in November 2024 and beating Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., 39, last June.
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Paul’s only loss in the boxing ring came in a split decision in 2023 at the hands of Tommy Fury, the younger brother of former heavyweight champion Tyson Fury.
The huge discrepancies in both size and weight between Paul and Joshua have been on display in their clashes ahead of Friday’s fight. Joshua will not be allowed to weigh more than 245 pounds at Thursday’s official weigh-in.
(Eva Marie Uzcátegui via Getty Images)
Paul was previously preparing for a 195-pound fight against WBA lightweight champion Davis, who typically competes at 135 pounds as a professional.
Friday night’s preliminaries feature four women’s championship fights: Alycia Baumgardner vs. Leila Beaudoin for the unified super featherweight championship, Cherneka Johnson vs. Amanda Galle for the undisputed bantamweight championship, Caroline Dubois vs. Camila Panatta for the WBC lightweight championship and Yokasta Valle vs. Yadira Bustillos for the WBC strawweight championship.
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Former UFC champions Anderson Silva and Tyron Woodley also face off on the card.
The official fight card between Paul and Joshua can be seen below. All odds courtesy of BetMGM.
Main Card (Netflix, 8 p.m. ET)
Heavyweight: Anthony Joshua (-900) vs. Jake Paul (+600)
IBF/WBO/WBA Super Featherweight Championship: Alycia Baumgardner (-1200) vs. Leila Beaudoin (+700)
Cruiserweight: Anderson Silva (-225) vs. Tyron Woodley (+225)
Featherweight: Jahmal Harvey vs. Kevin Cervantes
Preliminary card (Tudum, 4:45 pm ET)
Undisputed bantamweight championship: Cherneka Johnson (-800) vs. Amanda Galle (+550)
WBC Lightweight Championship: Caroline Dubois (-3000) vs. Camila Panatta (+1000)
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WBC Strawweight Championship: Yokasta Valle (-1000) vs. Yadira Bustillos (+700)
Welterweight: Avious Griffin (-500) vs. Justin Cardona (+400)
Cruiserweight: Keno Marley (-10000) vs. Diarra Davis Jr. (+1800)