AJ given offer he simply couldn't refuse - Bunce

Boxing expert Steve Bunce says Anthony Joshua was given an "offer he simply couldn't refuse" to fight Jake Paul.

Britain's Joshua, the former two-time unified heavyweight champion, will take on YouTuber-turned-boxer Paul at Kaseya Center in Miami on 19 December.

The fight will consist of eight three-minute rounds and both fighters will wear regulation 10-ounce gloves.

Joshua, 36, weighed more than 250lbs during his previous three fights but must come in at under 245lbs for the bout.

Bunce said that the fight is "ridiculous" and 28-year-old American Paul is nothing more than a "novice", but added he can understand the financial appeal for Joshua who is reportedly set to earn £36.9m ($50m).

"Last November Jake Paul fought Mike Tyson and nearly broke the world," Bunce told BBC Radio 5 Live.

"They had something ridiculous like 300 million people watching on different channels and were paid something along those lines in dollars as well.

"And that's the reason this fight is happening, let's get it right. AJ has been made an offer he simply couldn't refuse and he's accepted.

"I would not deny a single man or woman that boxes professionally a pound note, penny, a cent, a dime, the money for any fight.

"If AJ is being paid as handsomely as we're told, bear in mind he does a lot of work for the community with his foundation, if it spreads the love around and absolutely loads up his pockets, I've no problem with it."

Bunce said Joshua is "still in talks" over fighting fellow Briton Tyson Fury and the fight against Paul will be "one of the final paydays" for the fighter despite an obvious mismatch.

"AJ will be at least six inches taller and he will be perhaps four stone heavier. He's an Olympic champion remember - we overlook that fact," Bunce explained.

"Jake Paul is a terrific novice. He's a great novice in a weight division below - cruiserweight - and that's what he is: a novice. But he's a novice who conjures up these ridiculous fights."

Nakisa Bidarian, co-founder of Most Valuable Promotions and Paul's manager, said he had no concerns about the fight on safety grounds.

"I don't think it's reckless in any way shape or form," he told BBC Sport.

"Jake's in a much better position than a lot of fights which happen in boxing on a regular basis. I think he has a great shot.

"AJ is big, strong, but slower. He's more vulnerable to Jake's movement. In my mind this is more sanctionable than many fights in the sport of boxing."

However, former British middleweight Nick Blackwell - who had to retire from boxing after he sustained a brain injury against Chris Eubank Jr in 2016 - said he does not agree with the fight going ahead as he feels it is "so dangerous".

He told BBC Newsbeat he does not "want anyone to go through what I've been through" and thinks Joshua will be "able to do what he wants".

Despite his personal objection, he understands the global appeal the fight will have.

"He's going to earn a lot of money out of it and everyone's going to want to watch it," he added.

"It's entertainment for everyone, a massive stage for them both, but I don't agree with it and the whole boxing world won't agree with it."

Will it tarnish AJ's reputation?

Bunce acknowledged there is a recent history of fights of this nature and cited UFC champion Francis Ngannou's bouts against Tyson Fury and Joshua as an example.

Fury claimed a controversial victory by split decision in October 2023 before Joshua cruised to a second-round knockout win over Ngannou in March 2024.

"Tyson Fury travelled out to Saudi Arabia and picked up an absolute fortune for fighting Ngannou, who was 6ft 7in and 20 stone," Bunce said.

"Ngannou was 'untouchable' and 'unbreakable'. He pushed Fury and dropped him and people screamed blue murder saying it was a disgrace that Fury had damaged our sport.

"What happened, beautifully, a few months later was AJ got in with him [Ngannou], looked him up down, walked out then promptly knocked 10 bells out of him and sparked him out unconscious in the second round."

Bunce said there is a big difference between Joshua fighting someone of Ngannou's physical stature compared to Paul, though.

He added: "It's even more alarming for Jake Paul in the sense that Ngannou is five inches taller than Paul and five and a half stone heavier as well as having, quote unquote, 'the greatest chin in all fighting sports'.

"He managed to get himself sparked out in the second round so lord only knows what will happen to Jake Paul once the first bell sounds. Don't try to say you won't be watching, though - of course you will!"

However, Paul's promoter Bidarian insisted the bout will be a "career-defining moment" for both fighters and Joshua has the chance to become a "legend" to many in the "boxing community who hate Jake Paul".

He said: "For Jake Paul it's a chance to show how far he has come. For Anthony Joshua it's a chance to end the Jake Paul train, but also a lot of risk for him if he doesn't show the way he should, the way people expect him to.

"I commend him for not getting caught up in that noise of 'oh you shouldn't even be in there with Jake Paul'.

Jake Paul has registered 12 wins in 13 boxing matches, losing only to Tommy Fury

Does it feel like a dignified end to Joshua's career?

At 36 - and with his powers seemingly on the wane - Joshua's decision to fight Paul is a far from ideal way to see out the twilight of his career, according to Bunce.

"If I put my purist hat on, the hat of the man who has been covering schoolboy boxing, covered AJ at a mere 18 years of age, and been to every level of boxing, of course it's not dignified," he said.

"Would I have liked to see him with Fury five years ago? Of course I would have. But it didn't happen then and even that fight is going to be late."

Bidarian has predicted the Paul bout will be the "biggest combat sports event of 2025" and dubbed it the "biggest fight" of Joshua's career.

He said: "From a reach and viewership perspective, it's absolutely the biggest fight.

"Just like the biggest fight of Mike Tyson's career was against Jake Paul. The most people watched Mike Tyson in a fight in his whole career was against Jake Paul."

Bunce joked that at least Joshua's fight with Paul still retains at least a semblance of credibility given boxers have plumbed to even further depths at times.

"It could be worse. A great man called Chuck Wepner fought a bear. The fight was so good with the bear they had a rematch!" he added.

"When the bear came in for the second fight Chuck Wepner told me: 'I looked over to the bear and he had done his homework, and nullified my jab!'

"You cannot invent this sport sometimes."