Eddie Hearn admits that he can’t defend Jake Paul vs Anthony Joshua

Matchroom Boxing’s Eddie Hearn has admitted that he understands the criticism behind Jake Paul vs Anthony Joshua.

On Friday night, Anthony Joshua will lock horns with Jake Paul in one of the most bizarre crossover fights in recent memory. AJ is a former boxing heavyweight champion, whereas Paul has never fought anyone at this level before. As you can imagine, many are quite concerned about Jake’s health given what the Brit did to Francis Ngannou in a similar contest.

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Many have criticized Joshua and his promoter Eddie Hearn for taking the fight in the first place. Of course, the financial rewards that are going to come with it will be astronomical, and will set AJ up for life – as if he wasn’t already.

In a recent column on BBC Sport, Hearn had the following to say about Paul vs Joshua.

Hearn’s view on Paul vs Joshua

“I have no real defence of Anthony Joshua versus Jake Paul. It’s crazy that it’s happening and I think the critics are spot on.

“But we just couldn’t turn it down. No boxer in their right mind would have said no. Anyone who says they would are completely lying through their teeth.

“We took a fight that we believe will be very straightforward, will give AJ a huge profile in America and one of his career-high paydays.

“AJ was going to have a run-out fight in November in Saudi – an eight-rounder against a guy who was ranked about 100th in the heavyweight division.

“It was an opportunity to wrap the hands with his new training team, do the ringwalk and go through the motions. Now we’re doing that same run-out but for 50 times more money.

“We have a clear strategy in mind – to knock Jake out ASAP. Then we go into normal service being resumed in 2026.”

Quotes via BBC