In a surprising Twist, Terence Crawford allegedly gave the green light to a showdown with Jake Paul just before securing the deal with Joshua—leaving fans on the edge of their seats.
Terence Crawford: Jake Paul will fight Anthony Joshua on December 19 in Miami on Netflix after approximately 30 fighters agreed to face him.
Jake Paul will face Anthony Joshua on December 19 at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida. The fight will stream live on Netflix.
The matchup came together after Paul’s planned exhibition with Gervonta Davis fell apart. Davis faced legal issues that ended those negotiations.
Nakisa Bidarian, co-founder of Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions, revealed that around 30 fighters accepted offers to fight Paul. The shortlist included Ryan Garcia, Terence Crawford, and Anthony Joshua.
According to Bidarian, Crawford accepted the fight offer. He confirmed this claim when asked directly by TMZ Sports.
READ MORE : A shocking claim suggests Terence Crawford wouldn’t
Terence Crawford agreed to the Jake Paul fight but they went with Anthony Joshua
“There were probably 30 fighters who accepted. AJ being one of them, Terence Crawford being another. AJ is the one that we came to an agreement on. Crawford was 100% in.”
However, boxing insider Rick Glaser disputes this version of events. Glaser stated on social media that Crawford “smartly turned it down” and called the claim “unequivocally not true.”
Paul ultimately chose Joshua for the December bout. The British fighter stands 6’6″ and weighs around 251 pounds compared to Paul’s 6’1″ frame at approximately 225 pounds.
Joshua brings 32 professional fights to the ring. Paul has competed in 13 bouts with a 12-1 record.
The former two-time unified heavyweight champion has 25 knockouts in 28 career wins. He knocked out Francis Ngannou in his most recent fight last year.
Bidarian explained his reasoning for viewing Joshua as a better opponent than Davis. He described Davis as quick, fast, precise, and highly skilled with knockout power.
“AJ is big, strong, and has knockout power, but he’s definitely slower than Tank,” Bidarian said. “He’s definitely less skilled than Tank.”
The MVP co-founder believes the matchup gives Paul a chance to display better boxing skills. He views it as more favorable despite Joshua’s size and experience advantages.
Paul has been training for the fight. Bidarian mentioned that his team has a good relationship with Oleksandr Usyk and his coaching staff.
Usyk defeated Joshua twice in their previous matchups. Joshua recently trained with Usyk’s coaches about two weeks before the announcement.
