Former world champion Carl Froch doesn’t believe that Jake Paul is sparring with British heavyweight Lawrence Okolie properly in the lead-up to his fight with Anthony Joshua, while the ex-professional still has his doubts over the fight going ahead. The bout is scheduled for December 19, and is taking place in Florida.
It’s an exhibition match for Joshua, who has many years of experience at the top of boxing. It is a stark comparison to Paul, who is a YouTuber-turned-boxer, with just 13 fights to his name and a record of 12 wins and one defeat.
Everything points towards Joshua taking a win, from his size and experience to the opposition he faces. In the lead-up to it, however, Paul has announced that he is sparring with British heavyweight Okolie, with the 28-year-old claiming he picked up a black eye from doing so.
Froch, however, isn’t buying it, as he told GamesHub: » They’re not sparring f**king Jake Paul. They’re moving around with him, touching him up with a little jab and the little technical bulls**t.
« They’re not sparring him. Lawrence Okolie is quite a good puncher. He’s big now. Jake Paul’s not good enough to spar him. So let’s see the footage. Let’s see the sparring, and then I’ll believe it. I still don’t believe the Jake Paul vs AJ fight is going to happen, but I’ve got flights booked.”
As it stands, just a few days out from the fight, everything is still scheduled to go ahead as planned. The showdown is set to be streamed on Netflix, with eight rounds lasting three minutes each, and is set to be fought out between the pair.
It could be a precursor to Joshua taking on Tyson Fury in a highly anticipated British heavyweight clash, which has been touted for some time. Paul has plans to stop that from happening; however, he laid out his own ambitious idea of what the future will look like.
« Yeah, 100%. It’s a massive mistake to look past this, seriously, » he warned Joshua, when asked about ruining the possibility of a Joshua vs Fury fight. I’m putting a stint in all of those plans.
« Don’t book anything, don’t arrange flights and hotels. I’m knocking this guy out, becoming the CEO of Matchroom Boxing and changing the plans. Then it’s going to be me vs Tyson Fury next year. »
That may be ambitious of Paul to suggest, given the gulf between himself and Joshua on paper. It remains to be seen whether it plays out the same way in the ring, however, when the bell rings on December 19.
As for Froch, his attendance could see him reunite with Joshua, with him claiming that the pair are on good terms. He continued: « I think if me and AJ saw each other, which we might be doing in Miami, when he fights Jake Paul, hopefully we will have a handshake and have a chat.
« There’s no jealousy or no vendetta. What he’s done for boxing is phenomenal, and no one’s done that since Ricky Hatton or Naseem Hamed. We’ve seen world champions come and go that haven’t done as much for the sport as AJ.
« Joe Calzaghe was a fantastic champion, but he never did much in terms of getting people involved in boxing and getting people’s attention.”
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