ANTHONY JOSHUA risks his legacy as Olympic and unified heavyweight world champion going down the drain if he sinks to shock defeat against Jake Paul.
Joshua – who won gold at the London Games in 2012 – faces YouTuber-turned-boxer Paul on December 19 in Miami.
But while the deal proved too good to turn down, Hall of Fame promoter Warren warns AJ’s reputation is on the line.
He said: “For the money that they’re talking about, how can you tell somebody not to take it? Especially if they’re going in as a big favourite as AJ is.
“The only downside for AJ – well I think the money he’ll earn will certainly give him a bit of comfort – but is if he got beat.
“And if he got beat, how does he recover from that? It’s all over. Everything he’s done, he won’t be remembered for winning a gold medal.
“He won’t be remembered for winning two world championships, he’ll be remembered for getting beat by a 12-fight guy who’s never had any amateur experience and who’s not even a heavyweight.”
Joshua, 36, is yet to return since Warren’s man Daniel Dubois, 28, knocked him out in September 2024.
He was due to fight over the weekend in Riyadh, unannounced against little-known American Cassius Chaney, 38.
But after Paul, 28, was left needing an opponent following the cancellation of his exhibition with Gervonta Davis, 30, AJ landed himself the deal of a lifetime.
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The world will stand still come December 19 as the face of British boxing Anthony Joshua is all set to go up against social media sensation Jake Paul.
AJ steps in on a month’s notice after Paul’s ‘David vs Goliath’ Gervonta Davis clash was axed due to Tank’s civil suit case.
And Joshua will be desperate not to suffer the same fate as legends Mike Tyson and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr who both lost to YouTuber-turned-boxer Paul.
Particularly as a handsome figure was negotiated to get this Judgement Day deal over the line due to AJ’s DAZN contract.
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And Warren said ahead of next month’s Netflix fight: “The bottom line of it all is that it’s going on and there will be a massive market for it.
“Me, I look at it, I’ve said this a few times over the last week or so, it’s that car crash when you’re driving past it, you’ll wanna watch it.
“Everyone slows down to watch it and they’ll do the same thing with this fight. They’ll watch it. They’ll buy into it.
“It’ll do phenomenal numbers, I’m sure it will. AJ’s not that well known in America compared with Jake but he’s massive over here.
“We also know Jake Paul over here. It’s gonna do big numbers.”
Joshua is still lined up to fight in Saudi Arabia in February with September reserved for a potential Battle of Britain with Tyson Fury in London.
But Fury, 37, is still in retirement which he announced in January, a month after his second points loss to Oleksandr Usyk, 38, in 2024.
Warren – who is tasked with negotiating Fury’s return and fight with AJ – warned the Gypsy King not to leave a comeback too late.
He said: “Everybody wants to see that fight, don’t stop talking about it.
“It’s something that’s not happened but it’s all gonna be dependent on whether Tyson wants to do it or not and obviously AJ’s got to win his fights.
“But that’ll be up to Tyson and he’ll make his decision in the new year and if it’s on, it’ll be on if not that’ll be the end of that.
“But he’ll make the decision and I’ve gotta be honest, with all these guys now that the AJ’s, Tyson, Usyk, it’s not the glories – they’ve had the glory.
“For me it’s about the money now. Big money fights, risk and reward. I think he does (return). He trains hard all the time.
“And I think that if he doesn’t come back next year, I think he’ll come back either next year after that or the year after that or whatever.
“I think he’ll come back because he’s a fighting man. His family, his wife, nobody wants him to fight again.
“If he is gonna come back, come back now rather than later because you’ve still got your powers.
“And as you get older in boxing, that’s how it works, your powers diminish. So if he’s going to do it, get it out of your system now.”
