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anthony joshua Controversially stated that boxers have a “license to kill” like him Set to face Jake Paul this Friday in Miami.
The former world heavyweight champion and the YouTuber-turned-boxer faced off in the final pre-fight press conference on Wednesday night local time.
Tyson Fury has branded Joshua a “classless loser” after controversial comments. A reference to the murder in the boxing ring during an open workout, where Joshua declared: “If I could kill you, I would kill you.”
Asked to respond to previous comments, Joshua defended his stance, saying: “That’s my job. We fight. We have a license to kill. A lot of people don’t understand that, but that’s my job.”
Concerns have been raised over the disparity in size, experience and class between the two fighters.
Former unified world champion Joshua is set to face cruiserweight rookie Paul, who has a record of 12 wins and one loss.
Paul said he was not intimidated by the challenge: “I’m ready. I want his hardest punches.”
Paul, who said earlier this week that he wanted to pull off the biggest upset in sports history by defeating Joshuaalso shared a wish list of future opponents including Fury, Terence Crawford And Canelo Alvarez.
“No one has done more for the sport of boxing in the last decade than me,” Paul said of Friday’s match-up.
“I think if people really cared about boxing, they would want me to win.”
The fight between Joshua and Paul will not be an exhibition but a professional fightWhich means the result will go on each individual’s record and knockouts are possible.
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Joshua’s record is 28-4 (25 KO wins), and the Briton has defeated Wladimir Klitschko, Dillian Whyte, Joseph Parker, Alexander Povetkin and Kubrat Pulev, while also facing Oleksandr Usyk and Daniel Dubois at the elite level.
Joshua has not fought since September 2024, when he was defeated by Dubois at Wembley Stadium, suffering four knockdowns en route to defeat – the fourth loss of his career and the second by stoppage.
Meanwhile, Paul is 12-1 (seven KO wins) as a professional and has defeated, among others – former boxing world champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., former UFC champions Tyron Woodley and Anderson Silva, and heavyweight boxing icon Mike TysonWho was 58 years old at the time of the fight.
Fury and Joshua are being prepared for their long-awaited showdown late next year and the ‘Gypsy King’ took to social media to attack his opponent.