Jake Paul vs Anthony Joshua Odds: ‘The Problem Child’ is 14/1 to win on points

Jake Paul puts his money where his considerable mouth is when he takes on Anthony Joshua this Friday, December 19. The Kaseya Center in Orlando, Florida will play host to the action. The fight will be beamed across the world on Netflix.

Join Betfred’s senior boxing journalist Joey Mills as he takes a look at the markets ahead of this highly-anticipated collision.

They are calling it the Unmissable Mismatch as the ‘Problem Child’ faces a Problem Solver. Can Jake Paul really beat Anthony Joshua? If he does, will the sport of boxing be swallowed into the Earth like that bit in Ghostbusters where Bill Murray and Harold Ramis fall in a massive hole before fighting Gozer? 

Who ya gonna call? Betfred, because we have a range of markets for this controversial collision that would make Slimer put down the turkey leg. 

In the classic Bout Winner market, AJ is unsurprisingly a big favourite. At press time we’ve got 1/10 on the Olympic gold medalist having too much for ‘El Gallo’. For those wondering, ‘El Gallo’ means rooster. Paul wisely making the dig about his own hair before the rest of us do it for him.

The big rooster is 6/1 to get the job done in the Bout Winner market while the draw is priced at 22/1. 

What else is out there? Well if you fancy a knockout from Paul, he is 14/1 to KO AJ. A result that will presumably rip a hole in the atmosphere through which Sonny Liston, Jack Dempsey and Rocky Marciano will walk to beat Jake up like the end of Avengers: Endgame.

Joshua has been stopped twice in his four defeats, which means the knockout is not impossible. But the Watford man scoring his own KO is far more likely, with the markets agreeing at 1/4.

AJ has won just three decisions in his career, over Joseph Parker, Andy Ruiz Jr in their rematch and Jermaine Franklin. If you feel the towering Olympian can add a fourth, he is 9/2 to score a points win over Jake. 

Paul has notched up five decision victories in his 12 wins, a result that is 14/1. Tyron Woodley and Anderson Silva both took ‘The Problem Child’ the distance. Those two face each other on the undercard, though rumours that a Jake’s Favourite Loser belt has been created for the winner are entirely made up by me. Paul has also out-pointed Nate Diaz, the ghost of Mike Tyson and the mess that is Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.

Logic left the sport of boxing long ago, but for those clinging on to it like myself, AJ is 5/4 to win in rounds 1-2. That is the way I went in my preview piece and I’m sticking by it. A true fight between these two can only plausibly end that way.

According to the markets, Jake’s most likely winning rounds outside of the decision are 5-6 which are priced at a still-lofty 28/1. He is least likely to do the job in rounds 1-2 or 7-8, which are both 50/1.

Roll up to the circus. Once again Jake Paul is taking on a former heavyweight champion of the world. This time, the opponent still has his own hair and is not coming off a debilitating stomach ulcer. Ring the bell.

You can find all our latest boxing betting tips and analysis at our Betfred Insights Boxing page and our latest boxing odds here.