Jake Paul and Anthony Joshua stood nose-to-chest in Miami, and somehow the size gap only made the stakes feel bigger. The YouTuber-turned-contender, now a ranked WBA cruiserweight at 12-1 with 7 knockouts, will jump all the way to heavyweight to face the two-time unified champion over eight three-minute rounds with 10-ounce gloves on December 19 at Miami’s Kaseya Center, live globally on Netflix at no extra cost to its 300‑plus million subscribers.​

Billed as “Jake vs. Joshua: Judgment Day,” the bout is a fully sanctioned professional heavyweight fight, not an exhibition, and arguably the most audacious crossover event boxing has yet produced. Joshua, 28-4 with 25 knockouts, brings Olympic gold, multiple belts and years of stadium-headlining experience; Paul brings the sport’s biggest digital spotlight and the belief that his self-made rise can crash through one more ceiling.​

At the launch event, Paul leaned all the way into that belief. He framed Joshua as a great heavyweight but one uniquely vulnerable to a smaller, faster mover and insisted this is not some cash-out dare, but a fight he expects to win over eight tense rounds. “People say, ‘Oh, I respect Jake Paul for getting in there.’ No, respect me because I’m about to win,” he declared, vowing a fourth- or fifth-round knockout that would detonate the hierarchy of the division.

Paul’s Disruption vs. Joshua’s Authority

Jake vs. Joshua Judgment Day Faceoff
(Photo by Eva Marie Uzcategui/Getty Images for Netflix)

From the moment he picked up a pair of gloves, Paul promised “anyone, anytime, any place,” but few imagined that manifesto would lead him to stand opposite a prime, fully fledged heavyweight giant like Joshua in just his 14th pro outing. He emphasized that he is unbeaten in terms of knockdowns, even in sparring, and flatly rejected the idea that this is the mismatch critics portray, pointing to his power and finishing ability as the equalizer against Joshua’s reputation as a knockout machine. Paul boiled his task down to one mission: avoid the one big shot for eight rounds, use his speed, angles and off-center head movement, then “pick him apart” and pile up points until Joshua unravels under pressure.

He also framed the assignment as a continuation of his outsider crusade. For Paul, this is about being a “beacon” for kids watching at home, proof that self-belief, discipline and risk-taking can put a disruptor on the same stage as the establishment’s biggest names. Stepping into a ring with a man who used to rule the heavyweight division, he argued, is the logical endpoint of that mission, not a vanity stunt. Free of legacy pressure and convinced the burden sits squarely on Joshua’s shoulders, Paul insisted he can fight loose while the former champion tightens up the moment rounds start slipping away.

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Joshua, for his part, projected icy calm. He brushed off talk that facing a crossover star could stain his resume, saying the opinions of doubters “don’t even come into my psyche” and focusing instead on those who still believe in him. He refused to pick apart Paul’s flaws in public, noting the American’s focus, work ethic and strong team and stressing that he is preparing for the best possible version of Jake Paul on fight night. Beneath that respect was the quiet menace of experience: Joshua promised to take Paul to “another school of boxing” he’s never seen, with tricks he plans to unveil under the bright Miami lights.

The Brit has even shaken up his own preparation, walking away from Ben Davison’s corner for this camp and embedding with Oleksandr Usyk’s team in Spain, one of the very outfits that solved him at the elite level. Calling the work “phenomenal” and “very challenging,” Joshua made clear he is treating this as a real fight, not a circus, and that he knows better than most what happens when a favorite underestimates a hungry underdog.

A Wild Undercard And A Global Stage

As wild as the main event is, the supporting cast makes the Netflix show feel even more like a combat sports multiverse colliding under one roof. Brazilian legend Anderson “The Spider” Silva will return to the boxing ring on the main card to face fellow former UFC champion Tyron Woodley in a six‑round cruiserweight bout, pitting two of Paul’s former MMA foils against each other in a crossover grudge match.​

In the co-main event, undisputed super featherweight queen Alycia “The Bomb” Baumgardner will defend her unified WBA, WBO and IBF titles at 130 pounds against Canada’s Leila Beaudoin over 12 three‑minute rounds, matching the men’s championship standard and giving the card a high‑stakes world title fight with real pound‑for‑pound implications. With Netflix pushing reminders on its platform and tickets on sale through Ticketmaster, December 19 is being teed up as a night where boxing’s old order and new media era meet center ring in Miami – and where one brash prediction from Jake Paul either becomes history, or a harsh lesson, in front of the world.​