The British heavyweight boxer, Lawrence Okolie, has offered his help to Jake Paul in his preparation for the fight against Anthony Joshua, even proposing sparring sessions with the YouTuber turned boxer.
The face-off between Paul and Joshua, a professional eight-round bout with 10-ounce gloves, was announced on Monday and will take place in Miami.
It will be Joshua’s first fight since September 2024, following his knockout defeat in the fifth round against Daniel Dubois.
Okolie, former cruiserweight champion (22-1, 16 KOs), is preparing for his own fight on the same night as Paul and Joshua, December 19 in Nigeria. This will be his first fight since July, when he suffered a biceps tear in the first round.
Okolie adds that he wants Paul to get an idea of what it’s like to be in the ring with a world-class heavyweight. Okolie has been Joshua’s sparring partner before, but on Tuesday he did not rule out the possibility of the fight lasting more than a couple of rounds, as is widely expected. “I’m not going to sit here and pretend there isn’t a huge difference in size, ability, in every way. But, you know, crazier things have happened. So, we’ll see,” Okolie said. “From what I’ve heard about AJ, I don’t think he’s going to land a massive right hand and finish him in 30 seconds. “I think if Jake Paul starts touching it, it’ll be like ‘Okay’ [Joshua knockout].I want to help Jake Paul, give him a chance. I want to go to Puerto Rico. What I don’t want to happen to him is for him to get completely destroyed in a round or something like that if AJ gets serious.
Okolie
