Eddie Hearn insists Jake Paul will not last four rounds against Anthony Joshua in their fight on December 19. He says that the fight will end once Joshua (28-4, 25 KOs) hits Paul (12-1, 7 KOs) on the chin.
Why Joshua must destroy Jake
Matchroom promoter Hearn needs AJ to destroy Jake, as a loss would be a disaster for AJ’s career. He’s already being dumped on my fans for taking the fight because they see it as a greedy money grab on Joshua’s part.
Joshua’s decline since 2019
Joshua hasn’t been on a slow decline since 2019, but it has accelerated lately with his knockout loss to Daniel Dubois on September 21, 2024. He hasn’t made things better by choosing to sit inactive since that loss, dealing with injuries and nursing his bruised ego.
Former two-time heavyweight champion Joshua and Paul will meet in an eight-round contest that will end in 24 days on the official record on December 19, 2025, at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida. The event will be shown live on Netflix.
“Father Christmas came early with 400 bags full of cash and said: ‘AJ, do you want your biggest Christmas yet?’ And we said, ‘Yes, please.’ And that’s basically how the fight was made,” said promoter Eddie Hearn iFL TV about the Anthony Joshua vs. Jake Paul clash taking place on December 19.
Risk avoidance for Team AJ
The money was too good for Joshua to pass up. What Hearn doesn’t say is that it would have been too risky to have AJ run out against anyone decent who wouldn’t be booed by fans. Putting Joshua in with even a bottom feeder would have been a problem as Hearn still hopes Tyson Fury will eventually agree to face him next year. He also has the trilogy match with Oleksandr Usyk that he is targeting for 2026.
“He (Jake) is mad as a hatter taking the fight. The fight will end when Anthony Joshua wants the fight to end,” Hearn said. “He’s getting a near-career-high payday. Thank you, Jake Paul and MVP, for the opportunity. How can we turn that down? I’m not going to sit here and tell you it’s fight of the year.”
Jake Paul’s win-win scenario
Jake isn’t crazy about agreeing to fight Joshua. This is the perfect fight for him. He will make massive money, and if he pulls off the upset, a rematch will likely happen. This will be a bigger payday for Paul. So it’s a win-win for him to fight AJ.
“The only person it’s dangerous for is Jake Paul. He’s absolutely mad. Don’t start talking to me about, ‘Is there something in the contract where you have to take it easy?’ No, actually, the exact opposite. We’re going to go in there and get it done in double quick time, destroy him, and get on the plane and then go home for Christmas. It doesn’t go four rounds. The fights are over once AJ hits Jake Paul on the chin,” Hearn said.
Hearn’s Ngannou Flashback
Eddie plays images of Joshua’s fight against Francis Ngannou in his head, and believes he can do the same thing to Jake Paul. The chances of that scenario happening are slim. Paul is a better fighter than Ngannou, and he’s not going to change his stance like he did.
Last updated on 25/11/2025
