Jake Paul has outlined his plans to beat Anthony Joshua and then face Tyson Fury next year, claiming his immediate opponent calls him “delusional”.
Paul and Joshua will face off in Miami six days before Christmas in a hastily arranged and hugely lucrative fight which, according to reports, could see each man receive around £70million.
For Paul, turned boxer YouTuber, it’s a major step up in terms of class and size – former IBF, WBO and WBA world heavyweight champion Joshua dominated him in today’s opening press conference – but the 28-year-old was full of his usual bravado and highlighted previous surprise defeats suffered by the Brit.
Paul said: “It’s a huge mistake to look past this fight. I knock this guy out and I become the CEO of Matchroom Boxing. It will be me against Tyson Fury next year.
“Look what happened when they last came to America. It’s Andy Ruiz 2.0.”
I’m here to shock the world – Paul
Many experienced boxing experts are worried about Paul and fear that he could suffer serious injuries if Joshua decides to lunge at the American.
“I like to challenge myself. I’m here to go out and shock the world,” Paul added. “I see what he is capable of but I am ready for a war. I got to where I am today because of illusions. No one would have ever thought this would be possible when I started boxing.
“I have already won in all areas of life, I have achieved all my dreams.
“I became the biggest YouTuber in the world and experienced the most watched fight in boxing history.
“I have never been knocked down or knocked out, even in training.
“He has to take care of me too.”
The fight will take place over eight three-minute rounds with Joshua’s weight capped at 17st 7st.
Joshua, who trained with WBC and WBA heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk, insisted he would not underestimate Paul, saying: “Jake is a serious fighter. When I started boxing I got into the gym and three years later I was at the Olympics. He’s been boxing for five years now.
“You can’t underestimate anyone. I realigned my energy.
“I need to cut him up and break him and hurt him.
“I was trained in the camp of the three-time undisputed champion Usyk.
“I have to break Jake’s illusion.”
Purse persuades Joshua to return to the big time
Joshua had intended to fight low-key towards the end of the year, but the size of the purse persuaded him to take a different path.
“Credit to Jake and his team for reaching out,” added Joshua, who has not fought since a crushing defeat to Daniel Dubois at Wembley last September.
“I wanted to take 12 months off and get back to work. I had planned to fight anyway and this opportunity presented itself.
“It’s huge, colossal – Jake Paul versus Anthony Joshua, we’re bringing the whole world together to watch this.”
