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Anthony Joshua will go up against Jake Paul on Saturday night as the latest opponent for the spectacle that the YouTuber-turned-boxer has engineered in the sport.
Joshua has all of the advantages going into the bout. He has the experience, the height, the weight and the reach over Paul. The British superstar has victories over Wladimir Klitschko, Andy Ruiz Jr. and Francis Ngannou in his career, while Paul has victories over Mike Tyson, Nate Diaz and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.
Those key stats are why Joshua losing to Paul would be “an absolute disaster and awfully embarrassing,” according to boxing promoter Eddie Hearn.
Hearn expressed his opinion about the fight in a BBC column. He said it was “crazy” for Joshua to go up against Paul but acknowledged that it was part of a strategy to revitalize the two-time world heavyweight champion and Olympic gold medalist’s career.
“AJ will fight against a world-class opponent in February and — if all goes well — he will then fight Tyson Fury,” Hearn wrote.
“So there’s a method to this madness and taking this fight (against Paul) does not affect AJ’s legacy. But losing to Jake or it even going the distance would. It would be an absolute disaster and awfully embarrassing.”
Hearn also made clear that the fight was not scripted.
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“Firstly, we’d be investigated by the FBI if it was,” he wrote. “It would be illegal. This is a professional contest and a sanctioned bout where people are betting on it.
“And do you think I would ever allow AJ to have a script with Jake? A script where we might lose or even hold him up and look bad? No way. We are not giving this guy an edge or a chance to say, ‘Told you I was better than AJ’ or ‘I won rounds.’ This would be catastrophic for AJ and we’re not going to risk that.”
It will be the biggest challenge of Paul’s career so far. He only has one blemish on his record in a loss to Tommy Fury.
“When I knock out Anthony Joshua and win, I’m the face and king of boxing, and people undeniably won’t be able to say anything. It’s silence across the board,” Paul told Fox News Digital earlier this month. “So they think that they have me in the corner, but I really have the world cornered, and it’s exactly where I want them to be.
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“I know God is on my side and I have faith in that. He’s always guided me in everything that I’ve done in my boxing career and in my life. And so I can walk into that ring with extreme confidence, knowing that this is the right moment for me.”
Fox News’ Ryan Morik and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
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