Jake Paul given black eye by British heavyweight contender in training for Anthony Joshua fight

Former world heavyweight champion ‘AJ’ will face the YouTuber-turned-boxer in December

Jake Paul showed off a fresh black eye from sparring a British heavyweight in preparation for his bizarre yet seismic clash with Anthony Joshua.

On Friday 19 December, heavyweight star Joshua will fight the YouTuber-turned-boxer at Miami’s Kaseya Center. The bout will not be an exhibition but rather a professional contest, meaning the result will go on each man’s record and a knockout is possible.

Joshua vs Paul is an example of some of the most-unexpected matchmaking in boxing history, with 36-year-old Joshua a former two-time world heavyweight champion, while Paul, 28, made his name on YouTube and the Disney Channel before establishing a boxing career.

At 12-1 (seven KO wins) as a professional, the American has defeated – among others – former boxing world champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr, former UFC champions Tyron Woodley and Anderson Silva, and heavyweight boxing icon Mike Tyson, who was 58 at the time they fought.

But in preparation for this mammoth step up in competition and size, Paul has been getting used to fighting big British bruisers and has a shiner to show for his sessions with former WBC and WBO champion Lawrence Okolie.

“I’m sparring a bunch of world champion heavyweights. I think Lawrence Okolie did that to me,” Paul said on Adin Ross’ Kick stream. “He’s like six foot six, 270lbs.”

Hackney-born Okolie, 32, is on a three-fight win streak and last beat Kevin Lerena on the undercard of Oleksandr Usyk vs Daniel Dubois at Wembley.

Paul also revealed that he currently weighs 215lbs and is aiming to reach 220lbs by fight night, with Joshua capped at 245lbs.

“It’s definitely a pretty wild fight,” he added.

The heavyweight fight is scheduled for eight three-minute rounds, making it shorter than most main-event matches on the men’s side of the sport. Each man will wear 10oz gloves rather than any larger, more forgiving pairs.

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Joshua’s record stands at 28-4 (25 KO wins), and the Briton has beaten the likes of Wladimir Klitschko, Dillian Whyte, Joseph Parker, Alexander Povetkin and Kubrat Pulev, while also facing Oleksandr Usyk and Daniel Dubois at the elite level.

Joshua has not fought since September 2024, when he was knocked out by Dubois at Wembley Stadium, suffering four knockdowns en route to defeat – the fourth loss of his career and second by stoppage.