Eddie Hearn: “If Jake beats Joshua, we should all retire”

Matchroom Boxing chief Eddie Hearn, promoter of British former Heavyweight world champion Anthony Joshua, shared his expectations for his client’s upcoming fight with American influencer-boxer Jake Paul.

“He’s in the Top 50 Cruiserweights in the world. Right now he’s a real Cruiserweight fighter. But I just don’t consider him a world-level boxer. I don’t think any Cruiserweight who isn’t a world-class fighter can move up to Heavyweight and beat Anthony Joshua.

Maybe I’m wrong. If I’m wrong, then my time is up. And not just for AJ and me — I think we should all retire. So, AJ, the burden of all boxing is on your shoulders, my friend!

I genuinely believe this will be a simple and ruthless liquidation. This is a real fight. It’s a sanctioned contest. It’s absolutely illegal to have any agreements about how the fight should play out.

Credit to Jake Paul — he signed up for a real fight. Less than a minute into this fight, he’ll be thinking: ‘What the hell am I doing here?’ And, more importantly: ‘What do I do now?’ In this fight, there is no escape route for Jake Paul… You’ll understand very quickly what I mean. And it won’t be pleasant.

AJ isn’t interested in dragging fights out. He’s just not capable of it. Because the moment he senses weakness, the moment he smells blood, he starts letting his hands go. And the moment he does that in this fight, Jake Paul will have a serious problem.

If Jake Paul shows any aggression at all — the fight is over. And if he doesn’t, he’ll just get walked down and beaten up. I’d say two rounds is fair for Anthony Joshua. I’d be disappointed if AJ doesn’t beat him in two rounds,” said Hearn.

Paul (12-1, 7 KOs) vs Joshua (28-4, 25 KOs) will take place on December 19 in Miami, USA. The eight-round Heavyweight clash will be streamed on Netflix.