Deontay Wilder questions official terms of Jake Paul vs Anthony Joshua

This Friday, Jake Paul will go head-to-head with Anthony Joshua in one of the strangest boxing ‘superfights’ in recent memory. The YouTuber-turned-boxer will take on the former heavyweight champion in a professional sanctioned bout, with many being concerned about the legitimacy of the fight.

Someone who knows a thing or two about elite-level boxing is none other than Deontay Wilder. In a recent chat with AceOdds.com, the 40-year-old had the following to say when asked about Paul’s boxing skills.

Wilder’s view on Paul’s boxing ability

“To be fair, I really just never just examined him. I just saw some of the matches and stuff like that, and I heard certain people that have been in gyms say he actually trains. If he dedicates himself and actually trains and puts that time in, man, my hat goes off to him.“

“Salute to that because it takes a lot to get in that ring and to sacrifice your life, no matter what, because the head is not meant to be hit in the first place.”

“I have heard that he actually takes training seriously. That is a great thing and it ain't just, oh, I'm just going to pick a name and we just gonna fight and we're just halfway training and, you know, trying to make a mockery of the business.“

‘The Problem Child’ is currently priced at 6/1 to pull off the upset of the century and defeat Joshua. If you fancy backing him to do so, you can use our free bet calculator to work out how much you could stand to earn.

Can Jake get it done?

Paul has certainly improved since he first stepped foot inside a boxing ring, and that much goes without saying, but this level of competition is something he hasn’t seen before, as noted by Wilder.

“I haven't really just sat back and assessed him on his skills or nothing like that. Just being a fan of boxing and just watching the entertainment of guys trying to hit each other - that's as far as I've gotten. I guess because of having the mindset of you knowing that this is an exhibition, this is not the basic design of how a boxing match would go.“

“You got all those stipulations in your head and designs. So sometimes it's just hard to look past certain things. It's almost like being the older brother in the family. And you got all the younger people, and as y'all get older in life, y'all can be the adults with kids, but you still look at them as your little brother.“

“You are still 12 years younger than me. You are still a little baby. You know what I mean? It's just that concept of things, how I see it.”

Wilder’s prediction

We proceeded to ask Wilder whether or not his official prediction for the contest was a knockout win for AJ, to which he had an interesting response.

“I don't know. It all depends on what type of deal that was done. Know what I'm saying (laughs).”

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