Jake Paul vs. Anthony Joshua Keys to Victory: Breaking down tactics of each fighter

Anthony Joshua could not have been any clearer in warning Jake Paul “you’re gonna get f—ed up, it is what it is.”

The former two-time unified heavyweight world champion will have the platform of Netflix to do just that Friday night when he clashes with Paul over eight rounds at Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida.

Joshua (28-4, 25 KOs) has not fought since suffering a beatdown at the hands of Daniel Dubois in September 2024. AJ would like nothing more than to decimate Paul’s boxing career, reducing him to a footnote to his decorated ledger. After all, anything less — especially an unthinkable loss — would mark a major setback and dent in Joshua’s career.

‘The Problem Child’ Paul (12-1, 7 KOs) will be looking for his biggest upset to date in a lofty challenge, considering Paul is a natural cruiserweight who will be giving up massive size to Joshua. Paul defeated a 58-year-old Mike Tyson via unanimous decision in November 2024 before edging Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. by the same result in June.

Will Joshua destroy Paul as promised, knocking him out with bad intentions? Or will Paul shock the world with his biggest win to date? DAZN News analyzes the Keys to Victory for both Paul and Joshua entering this heavyweight tilt.

Jake Paul’s Keys to Victory

Move, be agile

In giving up height and weight to Anthony Joshua, Jake Paul must be agile moving around the ring.

He cannot simply allow AJ to load up, sit on shots and leverage their maximum impact or it will be a quick night for ‘The Problem Child.’

Look to time AJ with pointed counterpunching

Paul used the buildup of this fight to boldly claim “I know I can land on him.”

Now, he has the chance to prove it.

Joshua can be hit and is a big target at 6-foot-6. Perhaps Paul’s best bet is to catch AJ in traffic with a timed counterpunch.

If he can land a shot to really grab Joshua’s attention, this fight could get intriguing really quickly.

Brace for impact

Sparring against the heavyweight likes of Jared Anderson, Frank Sanchez and Lawrence Okolie should have taught Paul how strong his chin is.

Can it withstand the punching power of Joshua who counts 25 of his 28 wins by knockout?

That could be a monstrous ask.

While there would be no shame in being knocked out by AJ, Paul can at least do himself the service of doing his best to catch, absorb Joshua’s heavy-handed shots and shooting in return.

That means, Paul will need to brace for impact at all times. If he does not, ‘The Problem Child’ will end up with the biggest in-ring problem he has ever dealt with.

Anthony Joshua’s Keys to Victory

Set the tone immediately

Listen — when you say things like “I’m going to break his face, break his body up, stomp all over him,” as Anthony Joshua has menaced, you have to set an immediate tone.

This means immediately closing the space between he and Jake Paul and barreling that big right hand down the lane with bad intentions.

Doing this will allow AJ to immediately take Paul’s temperature for how he will handle punching power and pressure.

Unload the right hand

If Joshua can use a range-finding left jab to displace Paul’s guard relatively easy, it is incumbent on the former two-time unified heavyweight world champion and Olympic gold medalist to unload the right hand early, often and in bunches.

The right hand, especially if landed flush as he did against Francis Ngannou, should be able to make Paul taste the canvas.

Impose will

Joshua knows that anything less than a knockout of Paul would be a tainted mark on his record.

That means, he needs to walk Paul down and impose his will on the American YouTuber turned boxer.

Whether it comes in the form of a straight right or blistering uppercut, AJ must let Paul know why it was a terrible idea for him to invite the British heavyweight into the ring with him.