Jake Paul, an aspiring boxer and an Internet personality, perhaps best known for his bout against boxing legend Mike Tyson, is now stepping into the ring to face a much more hardened opponent - Anthony Joshua.
The two-time heavyweight champion previously held the unified world heavyweight championship between 2017 and 2018 and 2019, and 2021, and he is the most accomplished fighter Paul has ever had to fight.
The odds clearly suggest that Jake Paul is a heavy underdog. For every $1 you bet, you can expect a return of $7, whereas AJ’s odds mean that you need to risk $13 to win just $1 back.
The implied probability for the former heavyweight champion winning is around 90%. There is a good reason for this as well.
Odds taken from FanDuel on December 18, 2025.
There is hardly a greater mismatch in boxers’ profiles, which is the first giveaway sign that the bout is not least - a show match capitalizing on AJ and Jake Paul’s celebrity statuses. However, there is a real incentive for them to succeed professionally.
Outside of their boxing record, whereby AJ only has four career defeats and has faced the likes of Oleksandr Usyk, Wladimir Klitschko, and Dillian Whyte, AJ is physically superior in almost every way.
His height is 6’ 6" compared to 6’ 1" for his opponent, and his reach sits at 82" compared to 76" for Paul. While they both use orthodox fighting stance, AJ is a far more hardened fighter who has actually had to go the distance against the world’s boxing elite.
Paul got a $40 million payday for his exhibition fight against Mike Tyson, which became the most-streamed sporting event in history, but this hardly helped him hone his skills any further.
| Jake Paul | Stats | Anthony Joshua |
| 12-1 | Fights Record | 28-4 |
| 28 | Age | 36 |
| 6'1" | Height | 6'6" |
| 76" | Reach | 82" |
The silver lining here is that AJ has been on the bench for more than a year now, after his defeat to Daniel Dubois, who took him out. Before that, AJ lost two back-to-back fights against Oleksandr Usyk, with the Ukrainian outclassing him in both fights by a noticeable margin.
Usyk, though, could prove key to his success in the upcoming fight. AJ's defeats, accumulated in his late career, have sent him on a soul-searching.
He is currently training with the Ukrainian team, and while he is aware of his class and experience advantage, he is also determined to win and not let an upset as he did against Andy Ruiz Jr., who knocked out AJ in their first bout, catching the fighter unawares.
It would be very difficult to see Paul just stepping into the ring and taking out AJ, which - granted - should it happen, would be one of the biggest boxing upsets in the history of the sport.
The issue with Paul lies not in his motivation, his training routine, or overall determination. He is working hard, but he has not had time to cut his teeth versus serious opponents, with the list of opponents either not professional fighters, or serious enough.
In other words, Paul’s fights are only known because of the unique brand he has built around himself. He would have to be mindful of AJ’s knockout power, with the fighter unlikely to hold back.
This said, Paul won 7 out of his 12 bouts with a KO, demonstrating that he, too, can land devastating punches.
This is difficult to say. A simple $1 bet can fetch you $7 return if Paul were to actually defeat AJ. Oddsmakers are still giving him a respectable chance, all things considered.
But perhaps, if you are looking to bet on the outcome of AJ vs Jake Paul, a far more sensible approach would be to look at Method of Victory or Exact Method of Victory.
The odds for Anthony Joshua Points or Decision at (+450) at FanDuel are very sensible right now, and it may be where the smart money is indeed.
Be that as it may, the upcoming bout is definitely going to go down as a proper way to see off the boxing season in 2025, with Netflix possibly beating its previous streaming record.
Image credit: Unsplash.com
