The December 19 heavyweight bout between British-Nigerian boxer Anthony Joshua and YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul at the Kaseya Centre in Miami has been described as a money fight for both combatants.
While Joshua is set for a career-high payday, controversial social media personality Andrew Tate has revealed that Paul views the fight as “retirement money.”
Promoter Eddie Hearn confirmed that Joshua will receive his biggest purse to date, adding that the former two-time unified heavyweight champion remains focused on long-term plans beyond the Paul clash.
“This isn’t ‘we’re fighting Jake Paul and retiring’. We’ve got massive plans for 2026,” Hearn told the 5 Live Boxing podcast.
“We’re going to have a run-out here, nick a career-high payday, and then go back into camp for serious stuff next year.”
The fight, streamed live on Netflix, is scheduled for eight three-minute rounds and is reported to be worth a $184m purse.
Meanwhile, Tate praised Paul’s courage for accepting the fight while acknowledging the financial motivation behind the bout.
“Complete respect, huge respect to Jake Paul. I have nothing bad to say about Jake. Everything I was going to say, I can no longer say. So fair play to him. He’s a brave man. He believes in himself,” Tate said on The Stomping Ground.
“I understand that for Jake, it’s retirement money. Worst case. But I just hope everyone gets out of there without any physical injury. And I really do have a lot of respect for Jake.”
Despite the massive payday for both fighters, UFC star Sean O’Malley has expressed serious concern over the size and power difference between the combatants.
“Did you see the size difference between Anthony? Did you see how f*cking huge that guy is? This fight, as a friend of Jake, is like, I’m scared. Getting knocked out by someone like that changes lives,” O’Malley said on his YouTube channel.
“It can change the way you think. Getting knocked out, bad concussion is scary. You have one f*cking brain, and he’s willing to go out there and fight. Like, that is absolutely f*cking insane.”
