British boxing fans have been issued a stark warning ahead of Anthony Joshua’s blockbuster heavyweight bout with YouTube star turned prizefighter Jake Paul, as excitement builds for one of the most lucrative fights in modern boxing history.
Joshua and Paul are set to meet in a professional contest in Miami, Florida, in the early hours of Saturday morning.
The bout will be fought over eight three-minute rounds, with both men wearing 10oz gloves, marking another step in Paul’s rapid ascent to the big stage.
For Joshua, it represents both a financial windfall and a chance to reassert his dominance following a bruising setback on home soil against Daniel Dubois in September 2024.
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Paul enters the contest off the back of a convincing points victory over Julio Cesar Chavez Jr in June, a performance that earned him renewed credibility among sceptics.
Joshua, by contrast, has not been seen since last September, when he was stopped in the fifth round by Dubois at Wembley Stadium in front of more than 95,000 fans.
That defeat prompted questions about the former unified world champion’s future, making this fight a pivotal moment in his career.
British boxing fans have been issued a stark warning ahead of Anthony Joshua’s blockbuster heavyweight bout with YouTube star turned prizefighter Jake Paul, as excitement builds for one of the most lucrative fights in modern boxing history
|GETTY
The scale of the event is reflected in its extraordinary financial stakes.
Reports suggest a total prize pot of £140million, with each fighter set to earn approximately £70m.
Millions are expected to watch worldwide, drawn by the unlikely pairing and the promise of either a brutal mismatch or a seismic upset.
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Five facts about boxing that fans might not know | GBNEWS/PAThe fight will be broadcast live on Netflix, a first of its kind for a bout of this magnitude.
While viewers will not be charged an additional pay-per-view fee beyond their existing subscription, UK fans have been reminded that watching any live television broadcast still requires a valid TV licence.
Under British law, live streams on platforms such as Netflix fall under the same regulations as traditional television.
Those found watching the event without a licence could face fines of up to £1,000.
A standard TV licence currently costs £174.50 per household, and for those living in rented properties with individual tenancies, each tenant is required to hold their own licence.
Netflix subscriptions begin at £5.99 per month, rising to £18.99 for the premium package offering ultra HD and multiple simultaneous streams.
Jake Paul and Anthony Joshua will do battle in the early hours of Saturday morning | NETFLIXMost attention, however, remains firmly on what will unfold in the ring.
Joshua is a heavy favourite, with many fans predicting a swift and emphatic conclusion. The former world champion has made it clear that simply winning will not be enough.
“It’s not a win for me if I just beat him; I need to knock him out,” Joshua said.
“I’m going to break his face and break his body. I’m here to prove I’m the better fighter and will do that until I stop fighting.
"I’m going to go in there and do a job. I want to hurt him, I’m going to want to really hurt him in the ring. "I’m going to come forward and impose myself. I’m going to land heavy punches and expose him to certain tricks in boxing that he maybe hasn’t seen yet.
"And I’m going to bring him to a different school of boxing that he maybe hasn’t been exposed to yet.”