Hearns brutal Jake Paul admission sums up him and | Boxing News

Eddie Hearn has declared that boxing would face full devastation if Anthony Joshua had been to undergo an surprising loss to Jake Paul next month. The two-time heavyweight world champion is due to conflict with the YouTuber-turned-pugilist Paul in Miami on December 19.

Beyond possessing considerably larger expertise and experience than Paul, who has competed in 13 skilled bouts and sometimes fights around the cruiserweight division, Joshua boasts a appreciable bodily benefit given he stands 13cm taller than his rival. The top disparity clearly seen during their pre-fight press convention last week. A defeat to Paul in the £140 million bout would show catastrophic for Joshua’s standing in the game, according to Hearn; however, his longtime promoter doesn’t anticipate such an end result.

Hearn said of Paul: “He is a top-50, in the world, cruiserweight. He is a legitimate cruiserweight now. I just don’t think he’s world class and I don’t think there’s any non-world-class cruiserweight that can step up to heavyweight and beat Anthony Joshua.

“Maybe I’m incorrect. If I’m incorrect, I believe my time’s up. Not just AJ and me retire, I believe we should always all retire. So, AJ, the weight of boxing is on your shoulders, my man!”

Hearn anticipates Joshua will deliver a swift knockout blow. He told Sky Sports: “I actually imagine this goes to be a easy obliteration. This is a real combat. This is a sanctioned contest. It is totally unlawful to have any variety of settlement of how the combat would play out. Fair play to Jake Paul. He’s signed up for a real combat.

“Within less than a minute of that fight, he is going to think to himself, ‘What on earth have I done here?’ And more importantly, ‘What am I going to do?’ There is absolutely no escape for Jake Paul in this fight. You will find out very quickly what this boxing game is all about. And it will not be pleasant for you.”

What would represent success for Joshua in the bout apart from claiming victory? Well, Hearn reckons that the Watford-born heavyweight has zero curiosity in prolonging issues and believes the competition won’t last for very long.

Hearn continued: “AJ, he’s got no interest in hanging around. He’s not capable of doing that. He can’t do it because the minute he smells weakness, the minute he smells blood, he’s letting his hands go. And the minute he lets his hands go in this fight, there’s a major problem for Jake Paul.

“Will [AJ] have a look for a minute? Maybe. But if Jake Paul exhibits any signal of aggression, the combat’s over. And if he does not, he is going to get walked down and crushed up.

“I would say two rounds is fair for Anthony Joshua. I would be disappointed if AJ didn’t get him out of there in two rounds.”