Anthony Joshua looked like a giant standing across from Jake Paul as they faced off for the first time during fight week ahead of their heavyweight clash on Friday from Miami.
While the size difference was always going to be a talking point heading into this fight, Joshua truly towered over Paul during the staredown as the former Disney star and YouTuber puffed out his belly and kept things friendly enough on stage.
In return, Joshua was stoic and didn’t seem to pay much attention to Paul’s antics
as he kept his sole focus on his opponent and the mission at hand come Friday night.
The fight serves as Joshua’s first action since suffering a knockout loss to Daniel Dubois back in 2024. The long layoff ended after Joshua got the call with an offer to face Paul after a matchup against Gervonta “Tank” Davis was scrapped.
Despite a significant experience advantage for the Olympic gold medal winning boxer, Joshua didn’t blink and accepted the opportunity right away as he looks to end the hype around Paul, who often talks about becoming a world champion in boxing.
For his part, Paul seemed calm, cool and collected staring down his toughest challenge to date — by a wide margin —as he attempts to pull off what he has called the biggest upset in sports history.
Paul faces Joshua in the main event from the Kaseya Center in Miami with the main card kicking off on Netflix on Friday starting at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT.
