I'd Lost Interest In Jake Paul Fights After Mike Tyson, But I'm 100% Going To Watch Him Fight Anthony Joshua For One Reason

Jake Paul already had a boxing match in 2025, but I wasn't watching. His fight with Mike Tyson, who was clearly in no shape to be taking him on, left a sour taste in my mouth. I was burnt out watching Paul take on former legends or opponents much older or less experienced than him and was sure I wouldn't be tuning in to watch that any longer. I wonder if others felt the same, because for the first time in a very long time, he's taking a fight that will be a major challenge.

On December 19th, those with a Netflix subscription will get to see Jake Paul take on Anthony Joshua in a sanctioned professional fight. He lost me for a while but, after seeing the latest betting odds and looking into Joshua a bit, I'm clearing my calendar to watch this fight live.

Anthony Joshua Is An Overwhelming Favorite In His Fight With Jake Paul

British boxer Anthony Joshua may not have the same level of mainstream name recognition as Jake Paul, but he has established a reputation for himself in the boxing world. In 32 fights, he's 28-4 and has ended 25 of those fights by knockout. He was a gold medalist in boxing at the 2012 Olympic Games and, although that was over a decade ago, he has had a couple of high-profile fights a year since then and won a couple of championships.

In short, he's a legitimate professional boxer. While Joshua is still about seven years older than Jake Paul, early betting odds from Sportsbetting.ag list him as an overwhelming favorite to win the fight at -1500 odds. The odds of Joshua beating Paul are so high that most bettors wouldn't consider taking that, opting instead to go for Paul as the underdog at +800. For those who have no frame of reference for what these odds mean, Paul was a -225 favorite to beat Mike Tyson, according to ESPN, and he dominated the majority of that bout.

Either We'll See Jake Paul Humbled, Or He'll Solidify Himself As A Legitimate Fighter

Jake Paul was the subject of controversy earlier this year when he was added to professional boxing rankings, with critics having all sorts of takes. While some have noted that he's done enough for the sport to earn a chance to compete for a title, few fans of the sport have recognized his string of high-profile wins as worthy of such an honor.

Should Jake Paul take on Anthony Joshua and hold his own, it would go a long way with critics in establishing him as a legitimate professional fighter. If, and I think it's a big if, he pulls off a win, I think he's worthy of making a legitimate challenge for a title shot.

For those hoping to see Paul get knocked out and humbled on a national scale, the sports betting odds so far say there's a good chance of that happening. We've seen him take down a lot of MMA legends on the road to this moment, so it would be great to see some of his biggest supporters finally admit he still has a ways to go before taking on a legitimate professional in the boxing space. I have to give his camp credit, as they know how to rope people in!

Tune in for Anthony Joshua vs. Jake Paul on Netflix on Friday, December 19th. This should be an entertaining match, no matter who comes out on top, so be sure to mark that calendar and get ready for another big fight night on streaming.