Sparring partner and former world champion Lawrence Okolie said Jake Paul might have a “very good chance” against Anthony Joshua.
The YouTube star hired heavyweight contenders to prepare for his fight with Joshua in Miami in the early hours of Saturday morning UK time.
Okolie, who won world titles at cruiserweight and bridgerweight, admitted he was surprised by Paul’s boxing skills after spending a training camp with the “problem child”.
“When I arrived, I quietly asked the coaches: What percentage of sparring do you want me to do? They looked at me funny and said no matter what you do, give it 100 percent,” Okolie told Sky Sports.
“They had a great camp there. It was like any world title camp I’ve ever seen or held myself to. It’s been a long time since even I had a camp with sparring partners at that level, myself, Jared Anderson, and Frank Sanchez. That’s a big question, but he did it. And he did a good job, to be honest.”
“I was surprised. I saw him sparring with other guys and I was actually surprised at how difficult it was to do things that I normally do against guys. I couldn’t just push him down or beat him. He could spar on his own. He hit back, moved well, and the important thing is that he was adapting and growing every day. I wish it was a longer camp for him as well. I’m looking forward to seeing where he is in three months.”
Lawrence Okolie is helping Jake Paul prepare for the fight against Anthony Joshua
“He’s a lot better now than when I first saw him. When I was told he was going to fight AJ, I was really scared. I thought I wouldn’t be able to spend the money, but now if he boxed the way he sparred, there’s a good chance he could get really good.”
Joshua is a former Olympic gold medalist and two-time unified world heavyweight champion, while Paul has only had 13 boxing matches, but Okolie claims it would shock boxing fans if the 28-year-old American replicated his form in sparring.
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Check out the best shots from the press conference ahead of Anthony Joshua vs. Jake Paul. Photo courtesy of MVP Promotions and Netflix. Jake vs Joshua will be live exclusively on Netflix and included in all plans starting December 20th at 1am GMT
“I’m not cheating by any means, but maybe I’m biased,” Okolie says.
“Jake is a lot better than I expected. I think he has a very good boxing brain, good application and good guts.
“I think the fight will depend on the first two or three rounds and how he approaches the fight. If he approaches them like he did in sparring, he’s going to have a very good chance and look good. People will be very shocked.”
“But I’m always nervous when I fight someone I’ve sparred with. The weight of the 10-ounce (gloves), the emotion, the energy, the build-up is different. It’s different than walking into a gym and putting on a head guard that you’ve seen 100 times.
“Can you handle it? If he could handle it, it would be a beautiful, beautiful watch.”
Okolie’s 2026 world title plans
Okolie is just days away from his main event fight against Ebenezer Tetteh on Sunday in Lagos, Nigeria.
Okolie, who has moved up to heavyweight, has been ordered to fight in a WBC final eliminator and could clash with highly rated prospect Moses Itauma.
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Lawrence Okolie knocked down Lukasz Rozanski three times and the fight was stopped in the first round, winning the WBC bridgerweight world title in powerful style.
“For me, this game is the pre-game before the big game,” Okolie said. “I’m going to go out there, do my job, don’t do anything stupid and win by knockout, and then we’re going to come back here to Nigeria and have a big fight.
“After the next two fights, I’m in the final eliminator for the world title against Moses Itauma. So I believe that’s next. That’s the fight I want next. After that, it’s mandatory for the world title, so 2026 will be a big year.”
“He’s a young man with the world at his feet. I’m trying to become a three-division world champion and to do that I have to beat the young lion.
“When I was young, I was the first to say how great he was. And I won’t stop. Even if I beat him, I’ll still say he’s a great fighter.”
