They will come to Miami on Friday for a fight between Anthony Joshua and Jake Paul, and they will get a fight.
It is a real fight, just not a fair fight: Joshua will tower over Paul and have an advantage in weight of in excess of 40lb. I repeat: this is not an exhibition, fake or choreographed in any way.
It is the exact fight Miami deserves, and it will offer sobering closure on another extreme year in the boxing business.
This is not the first time a David vs Goliath clash has featured in this sprawling city of lights, beaches, boats and myths. There was once a fight here in Miami between a boy and a man; the heavyweight champion was Sonny Liston, a man so feared that many experts expected death in the ring, and the wide-eyed, heart-pumping challenger was a kid called Cassius Clay. It was considered a terrible mismatch. The end of the sport, the scribes wrote.
The finest, grandest and most sadistic members of the Florida set packed the ringside seats at the Convention Centre, Miami Beach, in 1964. It was a mink parade at ringside with cocktails and laughter filling the air. However, rumours of a cancellation and dreadful weather meant there were 7,000 empty seats. They sat in wait for blood and were, instead, served thunder; Clay won in six rounds, soon changed his name to Muhammad Ali, and the rest is boxing history. The fight was close to being called off because the medical experts were concerned that Clay’s fear might lead to a sudden heart attack. The punters were quite keen on Liston killing the kid, but a heart attack was not good for business.
On Friday night, a modern version of the ghoulish gang – more tattoos, gold and muscle – will once again assemble in Miami for a boxing match. And once again, there is dire talk of death in the air. Relax, nobody is getting killed, but somebody could suffer a pain so deep in his heart that it is hard to imagine. Paul could also get injured.
Joshua is under more pressure than at any point in his 32 professional fights. Alternatively, Joshua is under even less pressure than he has been at any time in the last 12 or so years. It’s that cursed thin line of respect that all heavy, heavy favourites face in sport; in boxing, the line is thinnest and Joshua must expertly dance across it in his size 14 boots.
Joshua is expected to blast Paul quickly and painfully – he will then be called a bully. If Paul can find some rhythm, hold, duck and move, he might last longer – Joshua will then be called too old. Any other options are forbidden to even be mentioned. The seemingly damned clash with Tyson Fury has returned with a possible date of September 2026, and that adds pressure to Joshua’s night at the circus. It does feel like there is genuine energy to make that fight happen.
Back in 1964, The Beatles visited Clay in his 5th Street gym just 10 days before the first bell. It was not their original plan, but Liston had kicked them out of his gym. John Lennon, who knew his boxing, was not happy with the change. Anyway, they traipsed across the city and found Clay in great form. There is a famous picture of the Fab Four pole-axed by a jab from the contender, the kid, the outsider. When it was over, Lennon was asked about the world heavyweight title fight between Liston and Clay. He told the reporter: “Oh, he’s going to kill the little w***er.” I heard something similar here this week.
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The future of boxing is not on the line; reputations will not suffer; it’s not the apocalypse for a sport that is governed by cash and not competition. It is just possible that Joshua has been gifted the greatest deal in boxing history. And, by about midnight on Friday, everyone will be wondering how and why it happened. It will be hard to explain, and it was certainly impossible to predict.
In 2016, Joshua won the heavyweight championship of the world and made two defences. The same year, Paul joined the cast of the Disney Channel show Bizaardvark, playing Dirk Mann. There are no odds on earth that could have paired the men at that time. It is one of the sport’s most ridiculous tales.
Miami right now has a big-fight feel – hotels with boxers and their teams, the usual faces of the fixers and grifters, cornermen and cutmen that get a living in the business. Celebrities will land later under the Netflix canopy. Friday night will be an event – that’s the Paul way. There will be a bit of damage – that is the Joshua way. There will be no peace or goodwill on Friday night in Miami when the first bell sounds.
