Sky Sports’ Jonny Nelson says Anthony Joshua has been put in a “no-win situation” by accepting a fight with Jake Paul.
The former two-time unified world champion will take on YouTuber-turned-boxer Paul in an eight-round sanctioned heavyweight bout at Miami’s Caseya Center in the early hours of Saturday, December 20, UK time.
“There’s like 50 million reasons why Anthony Joshua would take this fight,” Nelson told Sky Sports News.
“In my head, I never thought this fight would happen. Why? Because Anthony Joshua wanted to make history and be a three-time world champion.”
“To me, it shows his desire. This is business now.
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Johnny Nelson believes Anthony Joshua is unlikely to fight Tyson Fury after agreeing to a deal with Jake Paul.
“(Joshua’s) weight (limit) is 245 pounds. So I think the last time Anthony Joshua weighed around that weight was when he fought Usyk. I mean, he weighed 254 pounds in his last fight against Daniel Dubois, so he has to fight properly.”
“This is not a naughty wink. This is a fight. It’s not a push and pull. Remember the McGregor-Mayweather fight? If this is a real legitimate fight, Jake Paul is very brave. It will be interesting to see.”
“AJ will do well with this, but it’s about money.”
Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn insisted that this was a real fight and that both fighters would wear 10-ounce gloves, the standard weight for professional heavyweight bouts.
“I believe it will happen because AJ is involved,” Nelson said. “AJ would take a good amount of stick for this, but it’s about money.
“AJ is in a no-win situation. If he gets in there, Jake Paul is the last one standing, but what does that say about AJ?”
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Nakisa Bidalian, CEO of Most Valuable Promotions, which represents Jake Paul, believes his fighter’s “delusional confidence” could work in his favor if he beats Anthony Joshua on December 19.
“If he goes in there and knocks him out, you’ll say that was expected. There probably won’t be much glory, other than the Jake Paul haters saying, ‘We eliminated this kid.'”
“Right now Jake Paul has our attention, but now we have to back up that boast. You can play soccer, golf, tennis, but you can’t box.
“Most people are going to watch this expecting Jake Paul to shut up. They’re hoping for a great version of Anthony Joshua to show up. If that version of Anthony shows up, it’s going to be a comfortable, smug night for any boxing snob.”
“If another version of Anthony Joshua were to come out and wrestle Jake Paul, Anthony Joshua would think to himself, ‘Wow, I’ve become a businessman,’ because that’s a bounty hunter, a bounty hunter.”
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Jake Paul has expressed confidence that a fight with former two-time heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua could happen.
“Maybe AJ thinks he’s had his best days.”
Joshua has been away from the ring since a shocking knockout loss to Dubois in their IBF world heavyweight title fight last September, and Nelson doubts the two-time world champion will be able to rediscover his best form.
“The days are getting thinner and the chances are getting smaller and smaller for Anthony Joshua to become world champion,” Nelson said.
“Aside from Jake Paul, the biggest fight is probably Tyson Fury. He makes more money and gets more headlines than any world champion out there, but he’s not boxing for a world title.
“Jake Paul and Anthony Joshua both took advantage of the situation in boxing today.
“Anthony Joshua got knocked out against Daniel Dubois. You’d think right away he’d say, ‘Let me go back to that fight. I’m better.’ But he didn’t say that.”
“So maybe he’s thinking, ‘I’ve probably had my best years. I’ll never say it publicly, but I’ve probably had my best years. So I’ve got to do the best I can with what I have left.’
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Johnny Nelson has questioned Anthony Joshua’s motivations for continuing his boxing career and believes the forward is “half in, half out”.
“If you used to be heavyweight champion, you were the best in the world, but now you get into it with Jake Paul, yes he knows he’s going to get screwed, yes he knows he’s going to piss off maybe one or two traditional fans and say, why are you doing this?
“But the reality is he goes in there with someone who can generate £50m, knocks him out even more and then he moves on.
“If you’re honest with yourself, you wouldn’t turn that down. No one would turn down that opportunity. Let’s get him out there and get on with the business.”
“I expect Paul to be knocked out.”
Paul, who has a record of 12-1, picked up a career-best points win over former world champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. in his last fight, but Nelson believes he will suffer a crushing defeat.
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Derek Chisora shares his predictions for the fight between Anthony Joshua and Jake Paul
“I expect the same thing to happen with AJ’s fight against Ngannou,” Nelson said. “I predict Paul will be knocked out, even if the referee doesn’t help.
“Jake Paul is a very brave and ambitious young man with a great business background and now he has our attention.
“I think everything he did in our fight and I admire and respect him for that. For Jake Paul, well done. Job done. For Anthony Joshua, I want him to get the job done and show his class.”
