ANTHONY JOSHUA will fight Jake Paul in a shock clash on December 19 in Miami.
The two-time heavyweight world champion will take on YouTuber-turned-boxer Paul – who turned professional just five years ago – in a Netflix extravaganza dubbed Judgment Day.
Paul, 28, was due to return on the streaming platform last Friday against Gervonta Davis, 30, in a bizarre exhibition bout.
But the David vs Goliath clash was axed after Davis was accused of domestic abuse in a civil suit filed against him by an ex-girlfriend.
So now in what would be the equivalent of David’s much bigger brother – Joshua has stepped in on a month’s notice to take on Paul.
Davis was accused of battery, aggravated battery, false imprisonment, kidnapping, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
So Netflix and Paul’s camp had no choice but to KO the event and look for a new opponent at a rescheduled date.
Initially, Ryan Garcia – one of boxing’s biggest social media stars with 12.1million Instagram followers – was approached to replace Davis.
But Garcia’s promoter Oscar de la Hoya spoke out against the offer citing their exclusive deal with DAZN.
Ex-UFC champion Francis Ngannou – brutally knocked out by Joshua in 2024 – was also contacted but slammed the idea as “disrespectful”.
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Former pound-for-pound star Andre Ward and boxing’s current best in the world Terence Crawford were also approached.
But as the desperate search continued, AJ’s promoter Eddie Hearn put the British legend’s name forward as available.
It sparked secret behind-the-scenes talks with the two camps, but the fact Joshua is also signed to DAZN was seen as a major huge hurdle.
The sports streaming app twice let Katie Taylor fight Amanda Serrano on Netflix in events promoted by Paul.
And after a handsome figure was negotiated, they have also given the green light for Joshua to cross over to Netflix, which has over 300MILLION subscribers.
The movie giants debuted in boxing last November when over 100m watched Paul beat a 58-year-old Mike Tyson.
And there is hope those same figures can be generated for Joshua’s equally controversial clash with Paul.
AJ, at 6ft 6in and 18 STONE, towers over 6ft 1in Paul, who campaigns FOUR STONE lighter in the 14st 4lb cruiserweight limit.
The British Boxing Board of Control would have been unlikely to have sanctioned the dangerous mismatch on these shores amid safety fears.
But the bout is headed to Florida – where regulations are far looser than their more serious counterparts in Las Vegas and New York.
Paul has 12 wins and just a lone loss in his career, losing to Tyson Fury’s brother Tommy in 2023.
And his only fight up at heavyweight was against Tyson, who he laboured to an eight-round decision win against.
Just months after, Paul first called out Joshua on his podcast.
He said: “I want to fight Anthony Joshua – exclusive – because I know I will f***ing beat Anthony Joshua’s ass.
“He doesn’t have a chin, and he has no skill and he’s stiff. I love you Anthony, we’e friends, all this s*** but I want to fight you.”
It sparked a series of back and forth messages between the two on social media – with AJ vowing to make Paul pay for his loud mouth.
So even Paul’s starkest critics – now forced to give the either brave or seriously deluded American credit – will fear for the outcome.
But with a prize pot of around £100MILLION to be shared between the two – Paul and Tyson pocketed around £30m each – the risk of a sickening mismatch is too lucrative to pass up on.
Joshua, 36, has not fought since his September 2024 KO loss to Daniel Dubois, 28, at Wembley after spending the summer recovering from elbow surgery.
The 2012 Olympic champion was due to return in a late-notice comeback fight against a mystery opponent next month.
AJ and Paul are due to come face to face for the first time this week for a press conference in Miami.
