Joey’s Corner: Will fighting Jake Paul harm Anthony Joshua’s legacy?

Anthony Joshua is fighting Jake Paul. That much we know. But even after a week of digesting their December 19 clash, there is something uncanny about it. On Netflix, the strangest thing this Christmas will not be the adventures of a bunch of 25 year old children in the fictional town of Hawkins. Because the meeting of a two-time unified heavyweight champion and the star of 2016 teen comedy Dance Camp has Millie and her balding boys beat.

Paul has nothing to lose. Because this is what we expect of him by now. But for AJ, this is a shift in approach. How will the legacy of the Olympic gold medalist be affected? Find out in Joey’s Corner.

On the way into the office this morning I was fully prepared to write a column about the WBO lightweight title classic between Abdullah Mason and Sam Noakes on Saturday night. Twelve rounds where the pace was ferocious, the advantage undulated and the blood-flecked mat could barely contain the excitement of two men born to fight.

But then I overheard an office debate about Paul vs Joshua (don’t ask why Paul’s name is first, I’ll have a nosebleed). I was reminded that for all the efforts of Mason and Noakes in Riyadh, fights like ‘The Problem Child’ vs AJ are boxing to the mass market. And since my quarterly review looms and my boss wants people to actually read these columns, I have opted to study Netflix’s festive ‘treat’.

Al Pacino’s Tony Montana once ruminated, “All I have in this world is my balls and my word, and I don't break 'em for no one”. As many boxers will tell you when their pay-cheque arrives, people’s word means little in boxing. I would argue a fighter’s testicular fortitude is accompanied by something else; their legacy.

Joshua has a legacy that should be gold-plated, ensconced in a museum and admired. He has held the WBA, WBO and IBF titles twice over. AJ has beaten five reigning or former heavyweight champions of the world. He is one of only three Britons to win super heavyweight gold at the Olympics. 

The Watford powerhouse’s legacy spans further than his in-ring exploits. Joshua took boxing out of the arenas and put it back in stadiums. Because of this shift, we are now accustomed to big fistic occasions in football grounds every summer. Sometimes we even brave the winter cold, as with Conor Benn’s victory at Spurs against Chris Eubank Jr two weeks ago.

Joshua did not invent stadium boxing. But his mainstream popularity put it back in the 60,000-seaters on a consistent basis. The likes of Carl Froch and Ricky Hatton had delivered one-off occasions. But in 2017 and 2018, the heavy-hitting Olympian racked up four consecutive stadium wins.

Despite his incredible achievements, AJ’s legacy is a thorny issue. A few years ago I produced a list of the top-10 British heavyweights of the modern era and was shocked by the comments. Respondents took umbrage with my placement of Joshua third, behind only Lennox Lewis and Tyson Fury. Despite his two title reigns, wins over the likes of Wladimir Klitschko and Alexander Povetkin and his box office appeal, I was told several men should have gone above him.

You will never see me say a bad word about Henry Cooper, but how can a fighter who never ascended to the heavyweight throne supersede one who sat upon it twice? The vitriol I suffered showed Frank Bruno’s popularity endures, but one WBC title and a litany of brave defeats in championship fights puts him firmly beneath AJ. 

Joshua was not the only target of ire, with some giddy fans wanting Fury placed above Lewis at the time. Now ‘The Gypsy King’ has lost to Oleksandr Usyk twice, one assumes few would make that argument today.

Joshua obviously knows the name Usyk well. He was relieved of his most recent titles by the brilliant Ukrainian in 2021. That harmed his legacy, but not as much as tossing the champion’s belts out of the ring following another defeat in their 2022 rematch. 

But most fans who lashed out at Joshua following that display of understandable petulance had already given up on him. Whether it was the shock defeat to Andy Ruiz Jr in 2019, the switch to a safety-first style in his underrated rematch win over the same opponent or the thrilling re-emergence of Fury; a lot of Brits had washed their hands of AJ way before Usyk made Superman look mortal.

AJ’s legacy is already underrated. He is a lock for the Hall of Fame one day and, with the five years of post-career hindsight, I believe few will moan at his induction. But posit the idea today and so many will scoff. It is a sad reality that British sports fans love schadenfreude as much as they love winning. A flawed genius, a non-threat, a lucky loser. Better the Brunos and the Paul Gascoignes than the Joshuas and the Jude Bellinghams.

But despite my defence of his credentials, I do think Joshua’s legacy could be harmed by entertaining Paul. Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn made a good point when I spoke with him, saying he had planned a warm-up for AJ anyway so why not get paid millions for it? Others will point to his fight with Francis Ngannou as proof Joshua has already backed away from pure boxing.

Joshua did fight 0-1 boxing novice and former UFC champion Ngannou. But that fight was justified by the almighty scare the Cameroonian gave Fury when he knocked him down and ran him close on the cards. AJ smashing the MMA star in two rounds was a call to arms for a Fury fight that never came.

That bout still might and this fight with Paul is supposed to keep Joshua ticking over for ‘The Gypsy King’. During the above chat, Hearn told me the deal was signed on the Matchroom side and it is in the hands of Fury and Saudi boxing supremo Turki Alalshikh. That fight transcends titles and, while taking place in the prime of neither man, will captivate the sport for a short while.

But was Paul the best route to get there? It is a no-win situation for AJ. Send Jake’s chin to Jupiter with the first punch and fans will shrug and say ‘you’re a boxer, of course you beat a YouTuber’. If he takes any longer than the opening round to see off the social media star and Joshua’s credentials come into question. 

But it feels highly unlikely that we will get the Joshua demolition job promised by the build-up. Not because Joshua has eroded, though his 2024 loss to then-IBF champion Daniel Dubois probably closed the book on his title-chasing days. But because Paul has studiously avoided any situations where such a beating could occur.

Paul’s sole boxing loss was to Tommy Fury, the half-brother of Tyson more famous for Love Island than his fistic prowess. Elsewhere, Paul has fought basketball players, influencers, MMA cast-offs and ancient boxing stars. While AJ is none of the above, it still feels like there is a catch. Jake will lose, but don’t be surprised if this one goes the distance.

But even if AJ does dump the YouTuber on the canvas and keep him there in the first round, it does little for Joshua. This strange affair will stand out on his record as a misstep. If he follows it with a win over Fury, (Tyson not Tommy, though this is modern boxing so who knows), the lustre is restored to a degree. But for a fighter whose legacy is already unfairly maligned, fighting Jake Paul is taking an unnecessary risk when it comes to Joshua’s standing in the history books.

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