Jake Paul could beat Anthony Joshua were he to prepare with a real training camp second time around, believes MVP co-founder Nakisa Bidarian. Paul made the most daunting step-up of his crossover career last December when he faced former two-time heavyweight world champion Joshua, who broke the jaw of his opponent in a sixth-round stoppage victory. Paul was required to have some teeth removed and had two titanium plates put in his mouth such was the damage caused by Joshua.
Joshua later overcame two first-round knockdowns to beat Albanian heavyweight Kristian Prenga, and is now gearing up to face Tyson Fury in a long-awaited all-British showdown at Cardiff's Principality Stadium on December 11. Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player "I was pretty vocal that I didn't want him to do the fight on three weeks' notice," said MVP chief executive Bidarian of Paul's fight with Joshua. "He did better than the guy Anthony Joshua fought in July [Prenga] and was not KO'd.
"I don't think it was a massive overshoot, Jake landed quite a few times on AJ and you saw in July AJ is vulnerable but it was too fast, not enough prep time. "He was cutting weight to fight Gervonta Davis and then suddenly fighting a guy who was 40lbs naturally heavier than him. "If Jake had to do that with the right training camp he'd have a really good shot at beating AJ." Paul announced this week he will return to the ring against an unnamed opponent in Dubai on Christmas Eve, his first scheduled bout since facing Joshua.
Darren Till is among the possible opponents as Paul looks to bolster a resume already including Mike Tyson, Julio César Chávez Jr, Nate Diaz and Joshua. "One of the things Jake said last week was, 'I'm a bigger dog than I've ever been because none of those punches actually hurt, sure he broke my jaw and I fell down but if you saw my face I said woah, that was a zinger, that felt good'. "Tell me who else breaks their jaw in two places, stands in the ring and does and interview for 10 minutes talking about the fight.
That's who the warrior Jake Paul is." Bidarian explained that the shortlist of potential fights for Paul is now at three or four names, with a view to announcing the opponent in the next fortnight. "We are down to three or four names, just trying to see ultimately who we get across the finish line," he told Sky Sports News. "Darren [Till] is definitely somebody we've had on the list.
There are two or three names that are still under consideration. "It's going to be exciting, and, as every Jake Paul fight is, an even match-up. Every step Jake has taken based on experience or level has been evenly matched and he's come through, other than the fight against Anthony Joshua, he has come through with flying colours.
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