Jake Paul and Anthony Joshua have a lot to lose in Netflix bout

MIAMI (AP) — Jake Paul proudly boasts he has become the face of boxing during the past decade. Now the YouTuber-turned-fighter is ready to embark on his riskiest ring venture yet after 13 professional fights featuring a cross section of opponents that lack the active status and talent of his next rival.

Paul will fight two-time heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua on Friday night at the Kaseya Center, home of the NBA’s Miami Heat. The scheduled eight-round bout will be streamed on Netflix without the pay-per-view designation.

Although the 36-year-old Joshua (28-4, 25 KOs) has not fought since September 2024, when he was knocked out by Daniel Dubois in five rounds, he is the prohibitive favorite to derail Paul’s ambitious fight plans.

“The odds are stacked against me,” Paul said Wednesday in the fighters’ final media appearance before the bout. “There are no sporting teams in history that have gone together where it’s this big of a difference in terms of skills, experience, resume, height, weight. This is going to be the biggest upset in the history of sport and you guys get to witness it.”

In their photo standoff that closed Wednesday’s event, the 6-foot-6 Joshua towered over the 6-1 Paul. Joshua also has a six-inch reach advantage, 82-76. In addition, 12 of Paul’s bouts have been at the 200-pound cruiserweight limit.

Joshua weighed 243 pounds at their Thursday weigh-in, while Paul was 216.

The 28-year-old Paul (12-1, 7 KOs) has built his professional record through unconventional methods. He has victories over retired UFC champions Anderson Silva and Nate Díaz and also won a convincing decision against former middleweight titleholder Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.

Paul’s ability to entice 58-year-old Mike Tyson to fight him last year further enhanced the circus-like atmosphere that often define his bouts. Yet, the bout against legendary heavyweight champion, which Paul won by unanimous decision, attracted 72,300 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The fight also generated a reported 108 million global views.

For all the followers Paul has won through his social media platforms, he acknowledges there are detractors who view him as an insult to the sport and the fighters who have traveled the arduous trek toward contention and championship opportunities.

“No one has done more for the sport of boxing in the past decade than myself,” said Paul, who also has formed his promotional company that will oversee Friday’s nine-bout card. “I think if people really cared about boxing they’d want me to win.

“I see the angle that they’re coming from – that (Joshua’s) the traditional boxer, that he’s been doing it for his whole life. But I think I’m more important for the sport of boxing. If they actually cared about the sport, they’d want me to win.”

Joshua, who also won an Olympic gold medal representing his native England in the 2012 Summer Games, understands his perceived role as a boxing savior against Paul.

“It just seems I’ve been called in to save the purest of boxing,” Joshua said. “People don’t like the fact that I’m fighting Jake. Whether that concerns me or not is another question. If we look at the people that don’t want me to be here, they want me to put an end to the Jake Paul show. That’s why I have to carry boxing on my back with this fight.”

Joshua’s bout against Paul will be his second in the United States. And Joshua wants to leave the ring Friday with a better outcome than in his debut, when Andy Ruiz Jr. knocked him out in seven rounds to end his first heavyweight reign six years ago at Madison Square Garden.

“It was a tragedy. It was a loss,” Joshua said of his first professional defeat. “But if you’re in sports, it may happen. You may take some losses but the goal is to bounce back. Through tragedy there can always be a great story. This is just part of what my life is.”

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Jake Paul, left, and Anthony Joshua face off during a news conference promoting their upcoming heavyweight boxing match, Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025, in Miami Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Anthony Joshua, right, is introduced during a news conference promoting his upcoming heavyweight boxing match against Jake Paul, Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025, in Miami Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Jake Paul, center, attends a news conference promoting his upcoming heavyweight boxing match against Anthony Joshua, Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025, in Miami Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Jake Paul, left, and Anthony Joshua face off during a news conference promoting their upcoming heavyweight boxing match, Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025, in Miami Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Receiver Jakobi Meyers and the Jacksonville Jaguars agreed to terms on a three-year, $60 million contract extension Thursday that includes $40 million guaranteed, a person familiar with negotiations told The Associated Press.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because neither side disclosed financial details.

The Jaguars (10-4) traded two 2026 draft picks — fourth- and sixth-rounders — to Las Vegas to acquire Meyers at the trade deadline in early November. The 29-year-old Meyers has 27 catches for 355 yards and three touchdowns in six games with Jacksonville, becoming Trevor Lawrence's most dependable receiver.

“I feel like it just elevates everybody else’s game around you and around him,” Jaguars running back Travis Etienne said of Meyers earlier this week. “I feel like he made us all so much better. I feel like he’s always making plays. He’s always catching the ball, locking it up. He’s always doing the right thing. He’s always in the right place at the right time.

“That forces guys to be better, you know? He’s kind of setting the standard. He came and set the standard, and I feel like it raises everybody else’s level of play. Just very grateful he’s on my team.”

Meyers was scheduled to become a free agent after this season.

Jacksonville made the trade in part because a season-ending injury to two-way rookie Travis Hunter but also because starters Brian Thomas Jr. and Dyami Brown were struggling with dropped passes.

General manager James Gladstone said at the time that Meyers' ability to catch the ball was his superpower. Meyers has one drop this season and has never had more than two in any season during his seven-year NFL career.

Meyers has been a huge addition for Lawrence and the offense. The Jaguars are 5-1 and averaging 31.8 points — nearly 10 more a game — since acquiring Meyers.

Meyers has 453 catches for 5,299 yards and 23 touchdowns in his career, which began in 2019 as an undrafted rookie free agent with New England. He caught 235 passes for 2,758 yards and eight touchdowns in four years with the Patriots before signing a three-year, $33 million contract with the Raiders in 2023.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Jakobi Meyers (3) celebrates a touchdown against the Indianapolis Colts during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025, in Jacksonville, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)

Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Jakobi Meyers (3) makes a catch over Indianapolis Colts safety Nick Cross (20) during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025, in Jacksonville, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)