With rumblings of a massive fight circulating, Jake Paul has been backed to spring a sizeable shock against ex-heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua.
Staking his claim for a showdown with former two-time heavyweight titleholder Anthony Joshua in his return to the ring, the polarizing Jake Paul appears to be the “frontrunner” to face the Watford megastar next.
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And while fellow contenders at heavyweight have voiced their displeasure with Joshua’s potential decision to fight Paul, the Ohio native has received props for inserting himself into the picture to take on the Olympian.
To boot, a former opponent of Joshua has even gone as far as to weigh up Paul’s chances of springing a devastating upset against the former.
Andy Ruiz Jr. backs Jake Paul to cause Anthony Joshua problems
Infamously sharing the ring with Joshua back in 2019 in the first of two fights, Andy Ruiz Jr. sprang his own massive upset against the defending WBA, IBF, IBO, and WBO heavyweight champion — scoring a seventh-round knockout win.
And with the knowledge of sharing the ring with Joshua twice — and watching his recent downfall, Ruiz Jr. has suggested Paul could repeat his success and land his own devastating upset.
“He (Anthony Joshua) can’t take hits no more, but he’s still a dangerous fighter. He’s a heavyweight,” Ruiz Jr. told FightHype.
“I don’t know about Andre Ward fighting Anthony Joshua. I think that’s a hard fight. Jake Paul, I think that’s actually a little better.
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“Shout out to Jake Paul, no one is doing it like him. …”
And while locked in talks to potentially fight Joshua later this year, Paul is reportedly keeping all his options open.
Jake Paul willing to pivot from Anthony Joshua fight
Confirmed as the “frontrunner” to face Joshua next by Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn, Paul would gazump a whole host of heavyweight contenders if he secured the pairing.
But all is not lost for the Ohio native if the bout does not materialize, with the YouTuber reportedly eyeing a showdown with former WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder, too.
“Jake (Paul) is dead serious about the Deontay Wilder fight,” Malik Scott told Seconds Out. “…They’re just so serious. Some of the things that he (Nakisa Bidarian) said confidently to me really make you know that they’re not fake confident. They really are confident.
“We’re talking about Jake in the ring with Deontay Wilder, it just makes no sense at all,” Scott explained. “But unfortunately, Jake Paul is a big-money guy in the sport of boxing right now.”