Boxing-Fame and followers to the forefront as Paul faces Joshua

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Dec 18 - Jake Paul and Anthony Joshua will bring another year of seismic shifts in boxing to an end in Miami on Friday night in a mismatch that illustrates how much the sport has changed, with online fame now almost as important as punching power.

YouTuber-turned-pugilist Paul, who ‍is ​stepping up from cruiserweight, takes on the former heavyweight champ seeking to burnish his reputation ‍against the 36-year-old Briton, who was knocked down four times as he lost his most recent fight, an IBF heavyweight title bout with Daniel Dubois in September ​2024.

You know, ​its boxing, boxing skill, boxing on the outside. Hes obviously going to come forward, bring the pressure, be the bigger man. And its just being slick, float like a butterfly, sting like a bee, Paul said, channelling former boxing great Muhammad Ali.

While Ali took on ‍a few odd-but-lucrative engagements in his time, such as a mixed-rules fight with professional wrestler Antonio Inoki in 1976, he would hardly recognise ​boxings new world, even if money is still the main ⁠motivator.

Joshua, whose career began an alarming slide after he lost his four heavyweight belts to Andy Ruiz in a shocking upset in 2019, has been promised a reputed $50 million plus bonuses for the fight, which will be shown on streaming platform Netflix.

The Netflix audience brings together die-hard boxing fans who will be eager to see ​what Joshua has left in the tank, and youthful admirers of Paul, with the former hoping Joshua wins convincingly.

I heard people say like, oh, Im not really into boxing, ‌but Im watching this fight, Joshua told a press conference ​on Wednesday. But no ones really