Turki Alalshikh made ‘destroy’ prediction for Anthony Joshua vs Jake Paul

Joshua and Paul are set to clash in a heavyweight dust-up next month, and many anticipate the Brit will make easy work of the YouTuber-turned-boxer

Saudi boxing supremo Turki Alalshikh believes Anthony Joshua knocking out Jake Paul would be a positive result for his line of work.

The YouTuber-turned-boxer called out Joshua earlier this year, saying on his YouTube show BS with Jake Paul “I want to fight Anthony Joshua because I know I will f***ing beat Anthony Joshua’s ass. “He doesn’t have a chin and he has no skill and he’s stiff. I love you, Anthony, we’re friends and all this s*** but I want to fight you. I will beat Canelo, I will beat a lot of f***ing people.”

Many were sceptical that a showdown would actually come to fruition. After the pair verbally agreed to a fight over the phone, but talks seemed to die down the past few months. Last week, though, reports stated that the fighters were finalising a deal to meet in the ring this Christmas.

On Monday afternoon, it was revealed that both men are set to clash on December 19 in a professional heavyweight dust-up. Alalshikh will be a keen observer on fight night, having been involved in Joshua’s last few outings in the ring. The Saudi boxing chief is hopeful that ‘AJ’ can put an end to the headache that is Paul.

Speaking to Tha Boxing Voice back in July, Alalshikh discussed a potential showdown between Joshua and the ‘Problem Child’. “If Joshua destroys him, it will be good for me because the headache is finished,” he said. “Let me explain for you, Joshua against Jake Paul, if Joshua destroys him then the headache of Jake Paul will go from my mind.

“If Jake wins, then I will know that Joshua is finished and Jake Paul deserves to be ranked and deserves to have a future in boxing. You asked me about Edgar Berlanga against him, I am not very sure Berlanga can knock Jake out. But I have a good feeling about Joshua… I don’t want a 50-50, in this situation I want it to be 99-1.”

Many top stars within the sport of boxing have predicted an early night at the office for Joshua, and expect the Brit to brutally demolish the social media sensation within the first round. However, top heavyweight contender Lawrence Okolie believes it could drag on a lot longer than people think. “For some reason I don’t think so,” he told reporters on Tuesday morning.

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“From what I’ve gathered of AJ I don’t think he’s going to go hit him with a massive right hand and end it in 30 seconds. I do think though if Jake Paul starts touching him it will be like OK. You know when you’re sparring someone who’s not quite on your level you can gauge how much to put into shots and go OK I’m going to slip.

“He hasn’t been in the ring for a while maybe he’s going to use it as an exercise. If Jake Paul clips him and doesn’t take him out with the first time he hits him hard, that’s when I think it’s going to get interesting. But crazier things have happened, I don’t know. If Jake Paul hits him and doesn’t take him out with the first one then it’s a long night.”

When is Anthony Joshua vs Jake Paul?

Anthony Joshua and Jake Paul will clash in Miami on December 19, just six days before Christmas. The pair will likely walk to the ring at around 11pm local time which would be 4am in the UK. Fight times are usually set to benefit the American audience and are subject to change depending on how long the undercard takes to complete. The event is set to be shown live on Netflix.