Is Jake Paul vs Anthony Joshua a ‘scripted’ fight? Eddie Hearn addresses accusations

Anthony Joshua will box Jake Paul in a professional heavyweight fight on 19 December – not an exhibition – yet some fans are still sceptical.

Many followers of the sport have questioned the legitimacy of this match-up, finding it difficult to believe that Joshua, a former two-time world heavyweight champion, will simply be allowed to try to knock out Paul, a YouTuber-turned-boxer, at the earliest opportunity.

As mentioned above, this is a professional fight – an officially-sanctioned contest – with knockouts allowed and with each boxer wearing standard 10oz gloves. The only other known rules are that the fight is scheduled for eight three-minute rounds, and that “AJ” cannot weigh more than 245lb on the day before the fight.

However, fans continue to express suspicion, despite the fact that Paul’s company Most Valuable Promotions (MVP) recently threatened legal action against those who have accused the 28-year-old of rigging his fights.

Nakisa Bidarian, Paul’s business partner at MVP, told journalist Ariel Helwani: “When you definitively state that Jake is putting on staged or rigged fights, that’s just defamation, and you’re causing substantial damage to his business, to MVP’s business, and [it’s] something that’s 100 per cent not true. We’re having to have conversations with our partners that are just unjustifiable. Our legal representation is looking at multiple individuals to go after.”

In August, journalist Piers Morgan clarified comments in which he had called Paul’s bouts “boring staged bulls***”. Morgan wrote on X: “What I meant is that his fights have been predominantly against older, past-their-prime opponents, which may be lucrative for both sides, and may have entertainment value but don’t reveal how he stacks up against currently ranked boxers and therefore are not a good look for the sport. I did not intend to suggest that the outcome was predetermined and certainly didn’t mean to suggest anything illegal.”

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Now, Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn has addressed the matter, telling The Stomping Ground: “Is there a script? Yeah, there is a script: we come out and try to knock him out clean – out cold – as soon as possible.

“And by the way: firstly, it’s illegal to have a script when there’s a professional, sanctioned contest; two, we would never be involved in an exhibition fight. Do you think I would sign up to something that might make AJ look bad or go [for multiple] rounds?

“No, we wanna go in there, do a job for boxing, which is what we should be doing, which is ironing this guy out ASAP.

“If [Paul] shows any signs of confidence in this fight, or any signs of aggressiveness, he’s gonna get ironed out as soon as he makes a move, because he’s gonna get hit by shots he don’t even see.

“I think AJ is just completely focused on the fight, like it was a world-championship fight, like it was a world-championship contender. We couldn’t be taking it more seriously.

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“So, this is a dangerous fight for [Paul], and listen, I take my hat off to him. But too much cojones, not enough smartness. But listen, he’s making a nice few quid.”

Paul has a 12-1 pro boxing record, having beaten former middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr in his most-recent bout. The American also holds wins over numerous ex-UFC fighters, and in November 2024, he outpointed a 58-year-old Mike Tyson – an icon of heavyweight boxing.

Paul’s sole loss was a decision defeat by Tommy Fury, half-brother of heavyweight star Tyson Fury, in 2023.

Meanwhile, Joshua is 28-4 as a pro, and he will enter his Miami clash with Paul on the back of a stoppage loss to Daniel Dubois, having been dropped several times by his fellow Briton in September 2024.

Previously, however, the 36-year-old won Olympic gold and reigned as world heavyweight champion twice, having beaten the likes of Wladimir Klitschko, Dillian Whyte, Joseph Parker and Kubrat Pulev.