Promoter Eddie Hearn says if he’s wrong about Anthony Joshua whitewashing YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul, “we should all retire.”
Hearn is putting a lot of pressure on Joshua (28-4, 25 KOs) to defeat the ambitious Governor Jake Paul (12-1, 7 KOs). The two fight on December 19 in an eight-round bout at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida.
Matchroom promoter Hearn has repeatedly told the media that Paul, 28, has no chance in this fight. He says he is nowhere near the level of former two-time heavyweight champion Joshua.
“Maybe I’m wrong. If I’m wrong, I think my time is up. Not just me and AJ retiring, I think we should all retire. So, AJ, the weight of boxing is on your shoulders, my man,” said Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn. Sky Sports about Anthony Joshua’s fight with Jake Paul.
Will Hearn retire with Joshua if things go sour for him on December 19? It’s going to be hard for AJ to continue his career if Jake destroys him. How do you rebuild from that? It wouldn’t make sense for Hearn to put Joshua through a four-fight rebuild like he did after his second loss to Oleksandr Usyk in 2022. AJ goes in another four days. ‘Dark refuge’ as he did on October 16, 2023, would not be the answer.
But we all saw what happened to AJ the last time he fought, when Daniel Dubois completely vaporized him in five painful-to-watch fights in September 2024. Joshua was reduced to a pulp by Dubois when he nailed him with a nuclear-powered right hand in the fifth.
Before the round began, Anthony was told by his trainer, “Throw the dice.” In hindsight, that was the wrong thing to say to an aging fighter with countless hard miles on the odometer.
Last updated on 28/11/2025
