Jake Paul has been mocked on social media after the YouTuber-turned-boxer claimed he would easily beat two-time heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua.
Paul most recently fought last November when he beat 58-year-old Mike Tyson in a blockbuster event watched by a reported 60 million households around the world.
The American, who has won 11 of his 12 professional bouts, looked to have agreed another megafight with Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez before the Mexican pound-for-pound great instead chose to fight Terence Crawford.
Paul remains on the lookout for his next high-profile opponent and boldly called out British heavyweight Joshua whose most recent fight was a knockout defeat to Daniel Dubois.
‘I know my boundaries,’ he said on his podcast BS w/ Jake Paul. ‘I want to fight Anthony Joshua because I know that I will f****** beat Anthony Joshua’s arse.
‘He doesn’t have a chin, and he has no skill and he’s stiff. And I love you, Anthony. We’re friends, all this s***, but I want to fight you.’
While Joshua lost his most recent fight, the 35-year-old is still a two-time world champion who boasts a five-inch height and 25-pound weight advantage over Paul.
And upon hearing Paul’s bold call-out and outrageous prediction on social media, many boxing fans were keen to mock his chances in a potential match-up between the pair.
‘AJ would snap his neck with a jab,’ former boxer and current trainer Dave Coldwell said.
’10 seconds is all it would take [for AJ to win], DAZN broadcaster Ade Oladpio added.
‘I admire the confidence/immense delusion Jake Paul has. It’s what brought him success in his social media career and forays to the ring. But this is the height of absurdity,’ combat sports journalist Chisanga Malata responded.
Others were keen to point out that Paul had already lost to Tommy Fury, the half-brother of Tyson Fury and a boxer of far less pedigree than Joshua, while one fan simply wrote: ‘Define delusional’.
Joshua, meanwhile, appeared to issue a response to Paul’s call-out, posting a screenshot of a call with the American on his Instagram alongside the caption: ‘2026’.
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The British heavyweight is still eyeing up a return to the ring following his crushing defeat to Dubois, but promoter Eddie Hearn said his comeback had been delayed a few months due to an unspecified injury.
Asked about Joshua’s injury, Hearn said: ‘Top-half of his body, there you go.
‘Nothing major but it means that he’s been returning to training and it’s not quite ready to turn back to camp.
‘He needs about another eight weeks until he can punch properly, you’re looking at what, April-May till he can start camp properly so it leads us to the back end of the summer.’
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