Jake Paul was originally scheduled to fight Gervonta “Tank” Davis on November 14, but that match was canceled due to Tank’s off-court issues. Paul then struggled for an opponent at the last minute.
He considered several different options in Nate Diaz, Ryan Garcia, Terence Crawford and Francis Ngannou before finally arriving at Anthony Joshua. His first true heavyweight challenge had a stipulation that Joshua could weigh no more than 245 pounds at the weigh-in. He successfully reached the condition by weighing in at 243.4 pounds at yesterday’s weigh-in.
Jake Paul weighed in significantly lighter at 216.6 pounds. With the difference in size and strength, it would appear that Jake wants to use the entire 22 by 22 ring in an attempt to box Joshua by controlling the distance.
Anthony is technically the better boxer and has a 6-inch reach advantage. Paul will try to use his legs to dodge Joshua’s offensive attack and minimize the damage he takes.
During the lead up to his scheduled match against Tank, Jake took on sparring partners he thought would best prepare him for the smaller opponent. One of those sparring partners was super featherweight boxer Raymond Ford (18-1-1, 8 KOs).
When asked who he believes will win the match between Paul and Joshua, Ford said: “I’ve got Jake Paul by knockout.” Ford believes Paul’s best shot is his jab and that he has real skill to compete against Anthony.
Whether Ford’s assessment of Paul is a bit generous or an accurate representation of his skill remains to be seen. When Jake changed opponents to a bigger, stronger fighter, he had to change his training regimen in terms of sparring partners. He turned to sparring real heavyweights in Jared Anderson, Frank Sanchez and Lawrence Okolie.
He has had tough sessions with all of them, but none of them are as skilled as Joshua. Paul should be commended for trying to do the impossible, but can he really survive a 24-minute match with Anthony? Rolando “Rolly” Romero was present for all the week’s festivities, and he believes in Paul.
When asked who he thinks will win? Rolly replied, “I got Jake Paul.” Rolly believes Jake will win with a plot. The meaning of the plot arm is that the main character is allowed to survive dangerous situations because it is necessary for the plot to continue.
This underlying meaning could possibly point to the victory that Jake can achieve if he survives the eight rounds against Joshua.
Nobody expects him to win, but surviving the match itself could be a victory, because surviving more than two rounds would shock the boxing world.
 is aiming to do the impossible, hoping to be the biggest underdog to overcome the odds. The greatest Cinderella story ever. A YouTuber){kind=link}