U.S. President Donald Trump has revealed that he watched the high-profile boxing bout in which former world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua defeated American YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul, describing the contest as “fantastic entertainment.”

Trump made the remarks in a post on his Truth Social platform, saying he followed the fight while travelling on board his aircraft.

“On the plane I just got to watch the Jake Paul fight, and he did really well, especially as a display of GREAT courage against a very talented and large Anthony Joshua,” Trump wrote.

While acknowledging Joshua’s size, pedigree and experience at the highest level of professional boxing, the president reserved special praise for Paul’s resilience and effort in stepping into the ring with the much bigger and more accomplished heavyweight.

“Fantastic entertainment, but kudos to Jake for his stamina, and frankly, ability, against a much bigger man!” Trump added.

The bout, which attracted massive global attention due to the contrasting backgrounds of the two fighters, saw Joshua’s power, ring craft and experience ultimately prevail. However, Paul’s willingness to face a former world champion continued to fuel debate about his growing legitimacy within the sport.

Trump’s comments further underline the crossover appeal of the fight, which drew interest well beyond traditional boxing audiences and into mainstream political and celebrity circles, reinforcing the bout’s status as one of the most talked-about sporting spectacles of the moment.

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• Paul vs Joshua highlights social media’s impact on boxing
• Joshua promised $50 million for Netflix-streamed fight
• Paul confident despite Joshua’s superior boxing reputation

Jake Paul and Anthony Joshua will bring another year of seismic shifts in boxing to an end in Miami on Friday night in a mismatch that illustrates how much the sport has changed, with online fame now almost as important as punching power.

YouTuber-turned-pugilist Paul, who is stepping up from cruiserweight, takes on the former heavyweight champ seeking to burnish his reputation against the 36-year-old Briton, who was knocked down four times as he lost his most recent fight, an IBF heavyweight title bout with Daniel Dubois in September 2024.

“You know, it’s boxing, boxing skill, boxing on the outside. He’s obviously going to come forward, bring the pressure, be the bigger man. And it’s just being slick, float like a butterfly, sting like a bee,” Paul said, channelling former boxing great Muhammad Ali.

While Ali took on a few odd-but-lucrative engagements in his time, such as a mixed-rules fight with professional wrestler Antonio Inoki in 1976, he would hardly recognise boxing’s new world, even if money is still the main motivator.

Joshua, whose career began an alarming slide after he lost his four heavyweight belts to Andy Ruiz in a shocking upset in 2019, has been promised a reputed $50 million plus bonuses for the fight, which will be shown on streaming platform Netflix.

The Netflix audience brings together die-hard boxing fans who will be eager to see what Joshua has left in the tank, and youthful admirers of Paul, with the former hoping Joshua wins convincingly.

“I heard people say like, ‘oh, I’m not really into boxing, but I’m watching this fight’,” Joshua told a press conference on Wednesday. “But no one’s really coming up to me saying anything about Jake, or they want me to knock him out. Just positive vibes.”

BIZARRE FIGHT

Leveraging his fame, Paul’s path in boxing has taken him through former basketball player Nate Robinson and retired MMA fighters Ben Askren, Tyron Woodley and Anderson Silva, as well as a bizarre fight with a 57-year-old Mike Tyson.

However, Swedish heavyweight Otto Wallin, who retired on his stool when he fought Joshua in Riyadh two years ago, told Reuters that Joshua possesses the kind of power that could see Paul get seriously hurt in the fight.

“When you’re in that ring, it’s a dangerous place to be, and anything can happen,” Joshua said ominously. “You hope your opponent leaves the ring safely, but if they don’t, you know, you still have to go to bed and know that you’ve just done your job.”

Despite all the evidence to the contrary, Paul still believes that he belongs in the ring with a boxer light-years ahead of him in terms of reputation and skill.

“I believe he (Joshua) is locked in and knows that this could potentially be the biggest loss, and will be the big loss of his career, and he has so much to lose in this fight,” Paul said.

-Reuters

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Youtuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul is in for a nasty surprise when he steps into the ring against Anthony Joshua on December 19, heavyweight Otto Wallin has told Reuters, describing the British boxer as the hardest hitter he has ever faced.

Wallin faced Joshua twice as an amateur, losing both bouts, but that didn’t stop him pushing for a professional contest which took place in Riyadh in December 2023.

Wallin’s corner called a stop to that fight after five rounds, leaving the big Swede with some painful memories.

“For Jake Paul, I think it’s pretty dangerous to face Joshua because he hits so incredibly hard. I know that – he hits like no other I’ve ever faced,” Wallin said, a note of incredulity in his voice that the fight was taking place at all.

“I don’t understand why Jake Paul is taking this fight – they must be seriously underestimating Joshua, but I don’t think I’ll believe the fight is happening until they’re actually in the ring.”

At a recent press conference to publicise the fight, which is due to take place over eight three-minute rounds in Miami, the 36-year-old Joshua towered over Paul, who usually boxes at cruiserweight.

Oleksandr Usyk v Daniel Dubois – Undisputed World Heavyweight Title – BoxPark Wembley, London, Britain – July 19, 2025 Jake Paul in the ring after Oleksandr Usyk won his fight against Daniel Dubois Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Couldridge

For Wallin, who built his reputation with a tremendous display of courage to take Tyson Fury the distance in Las Vegas in 2019, the match-up is a handy one for Joshua.

“He’s facing a cruiserweight that isn’t that good. It should be just a simple win for Joshua, and he’ll make a lot of money from it. It’s a dangerous sport and he (Paul) can get knocked out badly and injured in this match,” he said.

Though he absorbed a lot of heavy blows from Fury in their epic contest, Wallin says there is no doubt that “AJ”, who has recorded 25 of his 28 professional victories via knockout, is far more dangerous, and he points to Joshua’s second-round KO of former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou as evidence.

“Joshua hits unbelievably hard, harder than anyone I’ve ever known. Just look at what he did against Ngannou, and he’s bigger and stronger and better than Jake Paul,” he said.

Though many in the boxing world have looked down on “influencer boxers” such as Paul, Wallin has spoken positively in the past about how they are attracting a new audience to the sport, but he is doubtful that Paul has even the slightest chance against a former world champion.

“I think that Joshua wins pretty easily and pretty quickly – he knocked out Ngannou in two rounds, and Jake Paul won’t take that long either,” he said.

-Reuters

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