Anthony Joshua is a heavy odds-on favourite to beat Jake Paul on Friday night, but one former world champion is backing the underdog with a four-figure wager to pull off a shock.
The Kaseya Center in Miami could yet enter boxing folklore if Paul engineers one of the sport’s most astonishing upsets. A 13-fight novice with no amateur pedigree and no wins of genuine note, the YouTuber-turned-fighter is attempting to topple the 6ft 6ins former unified heavyweight champion.
Despite Joshua’s Olympic gold medal and multiple world titles, there are figures within the industry who are not ruling out the possibility of a Paul victory — one that could even hasten the end of AJ’s career.
2023 International Boxing Hall of Fame inductee Tim Bradley revealed on social media that he is staking $5,000 on ‘The Problem Child’ to win. In the UK, Paul is priced as a 13/2 underdog, meaning a successful bet at those odds would return more than $30,000.
Bradley, a former two-weight world champion and now an ESPN analyst, said his concerns centre on Joshua’s motivation for taking the fight.
“This dude [Joshua] is here just for the money. He said, ‘It’s all about the money.’ It is — but the way you said it, the way you put it? This is a game to you.”
“On the other hand, you’ve got Jake Paul. He’s all in. He’s got one of the best strength and conditioning coaches, Larry Wade, in his corner. I’m seeing what he’s doing — how he’s building strength and power, speed and stamina. He’s going to be firing on all cylinders.”
Paul enters the bout on the back of a points win against an over-the-hill Julio Cesar Chavez Jr in June. Joshua, meanwhile, has not fought for 15 months since being stopped in five rounds by then-IBF heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois at Wembley Stadium — a performance that clearly left an impression on Bradley.
“I watched Joshua’s last fight against Dubois and I’m getting cold feet. I’m about to put five stacks on Jake Paul. The odds are too crazy for me not to take this gamble. That overhand right he’s got, that power he’s got — that ain’t no joke.”
Paul has stopped seven of his 12 professional opponents, but none of those victories have come against anything approaching the calibre of opposition Joshua has faced since Paul turned professional in January 2020.
