During his five-year boxing journey, Paul has improved tremendously. He has good lateral movement, he knows how to work off the jab, and he has a powerful right hand. The question is, has Paul improved enough to pull off the upset of the century?
Thirty-five years ago (42-1), underdog James “Buster” Douglas posted the upset of the century when he stopped Mike Tyson in the 10th round. Going into the Joshua fight, Paul is a (+700) underdog.
Recently, the upset of the century almost occurred in March 2024. In his pro boxing debut, former UFC world heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou challenged the then WBC world heavyweight champion Tyson Fury.
With 44 seconds remaining in the third round, Ngannou scored a knockdown when he landed a hard left hook. However, Fury was able to get up, utilize his skill set, and box his way to a split decision victory.
Due to his impressive performance against Fury, Francis Ngannou was awarded another big fight six months later against Anthony Joshua. Unfortunately for Ngannou, things didn’t go according to plan, as Joshua knocked him out in the second round.
Jake Paul could view Ngannou’s fight against Fury as inspiration. Ngannou was an inexperienced boxer who took Fury to the limit. Jake Paul has minimal experience, but the one advantage he holds is in the athleticism category.
Anthony Joshua is an extraordinary boxer, but he has four losses, which means there is a blueprint out on him. Two of Joshua’s four career losses came at the hands of Oleksandr Usyk.
Similar to Usyk, Jake Paul will attempt to use lateral movement and his hand speed. Unfortunately for Paul, he doesn’t possess Usyk’s other attributes, such as the IQ, timing, punch variety, footwork, and the ability to create angles.
The only chance Jake Paul has of producing the upset of the century is to fight the perfect fight. Paul is smart, disciplined, and very elusive.
His offense must be crisp, and his defense must be tight. On the night of December 19 Jake Paul (12-1, 7 KOs) will have to be the epitome of the boxing phrase ‘hit but don’t get hit.’
Jake Paul believes he has a chance to win because Anthony Joshua, 36, may have lost some punch resistance. During the course of his June 2019 victory, Andy Ruiz dropped Joshua four times.
Daniel Dubois also scored four knockdowns when he defeated Joshua in September 2024. It’s a fact that Joshua can be hurt, but the question is, does Jake Paul have enough punching power to hurt Anthony Joshua?
In Jake Paul’s case, punching power is irrelevant. His main objective is to be slicker than baby oil while boxing from the outside. Paul will have to use his hand speed and constant movement to outpoint Joshua over eight rounds.
This Friday night, Jake Paul will take the biggest risk of his pro boxing career when he steps inside the ring to face Anthony Joshua. In the world of sports, we have witnessed instances where, for one night, everything went right for a particular team or individual.
On December 19, Jake Paul will need a night where everything goes right. If Paul can be defensively responsible, work from the outside, and outpoint Joshua, then it will, without a doubt, be the biggest upset of the century.
