Category World News

YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul is back in action on Friday night when he faces the biggest test of his career against two-time unified heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua.

Joshua will start as the huge favourite in this one, despite not having fought for more than a year and after taking a break from boxing.

For Paul, this bout – more than the rest of his previous fights combined – will go a long way to convincing supporters and sceptics alike whether the brash-talking social media star is a genuine world-class contender or nothing more than an overhyped pretender.

Here’s what you need to know in advance of Paul vs Joshua:

What is the date and start time for the Paul vs Joshua fight?

The fight is scheduled for Friday, December 19.

Paul and Joshua are expected to undertake their ring walks at 10:30pm local time (03:30 GMT Saturday). The fight will begin shortly thereafter.

Where is Paul vs Joshua being held?

The heavyweight contest will be staged at the Kaseya Center in Miami, United States.

The venue is home to the three-time National Basketball Association (NBA) champion Miami Heat and can hold up to 20,000 spectators for boxing matches.

How to watch and follow Paul vs Joshua?

Al Jazeera’s live text commentary and photo coverage of the fight night will begin at 23:30 GMT on Friday, December 19. We will bring you all the pre-fight talking points, analysis and build-up before bringing you round-by-round Paul-Joshua updates live.

This whole fight card will be available live worldwide exclusively on Netflix. All Netflix subscribers can stream the event at no extra cost.

What are the betting odds?

Joshua has a substantial height and weight advantage – and his professional fighting resume is far superior – making the Briton the overwhelming bookie’s favourite to win the fight.

Odds via FanDuel (subject to change) offer the following money lines, suggesting a Joshua win as a near-certainty:

Jake Paul to win: +700

Anthony Joshua: -1300

What is the fight purse?

Figures vary, but it appears both fighters are in for the largest payday of their careers.

It was initially reported that Paul and Joshua would evenly split a whopping $184m fight purse.

Paul has since claimed on social media that the fight will actually be worth a staggering $267m, but has provided no evidence to back up that inflated figure.

Why hasn’t Joshua fought in more than a year?

It will be Joshua’s first bout since a brutal fifth-round knockout loss against fellow Englishman Daniel Dubois in September 2024.

In the past 14 months, the 36-year-old Joshua also underwent elbow surgery and took time off the sport to recover and recharge mentally and physically.

Why didn’t Paul fight Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis?

Paul’s November 14 exhibition boxing match against WBA world lightweight champion Gervonta “Tank” Davis was scrapped on November 4 after it emerged that a civil lawsuit had been filed against Davis in Miami-Dade County in late October.

The scheduled fight had drawn significant global interest due to the novelty of the matchup that pitted the much-larger Paul against Davis, who fights at the 135-pound (61kg) weight limit.

Who is Jake Paul?

Paul, 28, is from Westlake, Ohio where he and his older brother Logan shot to fame through social media. Jake began his career posting videos on the online platform Vine in September 2013 and had amassed 5.3 million followers and 2 billion views before the app was discontinued, according to reports.

Paul is 6-feet, 1-inch tall (1.85m) and normally fights at the cruiserweight – or junior heavyweight – division. The weight class limit for the division is listed at 200 pounds (91kg).

The American enters this fight off the back of his last successful bout against former world middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr in June, which he won by unanimous decision.

Before that, he shot to worldwide fame in November 2024 when he prevailed in a decision victory over legendary heavyweight Mike Tyson, who was 58 at the time and was a shadow of his former self.

Who is Anthony Joshua?

Anthony Joshua is a 6-feet, 6-inch tall (1.98m) boxer from Watford, just outside London, England.

Under the parameters of the bout, Joshua, who historically has weighed in at about 250 pounds (113kg) for past heavyweight fights, will be limited to no more than 245 pounds (111kg) against Paul.

Joshua is a two-time unified heavyweight world champion. He held the unified titles (WBA, IBF, WBO) at the following time periods: April 2016 to June 2019, when he won the IBF belt and unified it, losing them to Andy Ruiz Jr; and again from December 2019 to September 2021, after winning the rematch against Ruiz Jr. before losing to current heavyweight world champion, Oleksandr Usyk.

What’s Paul’s fight record?

Paul began professional bouts in 2020, and his pro fight record is 12-1.

His only loss came in February 2023, when he lost to Tommy Fury, the brother of former heavyweight world champion Tyson.

What’s Joshua’s fight record?

The 36-year-old’s fight record is 28-4. Joshua has fought several famous heavyweights, including Usyk, Dubois and Wladimir Klitschko.

He is eight years older than Paul and has more than double the number of career professional fights than his opponent.

What has Paul said about the fight?

Paul has predicted the bout will end via a knockout victory in the fifth round.

“I’m here to go out there and shock the world,” Paul said. “I know what I’m capable of. People say, ‘Oh, he’s out of his mind.’ I’ve gotten to where I am today because of delusional optimism. No one thinks I’m going to win, so join the list and be ready to be shocked.”

“He’s one of the best heavyweights ever,” Paul added. “But I believe that fighting a smaller man is often times harder for a heavyweight because of the speed difference and because of the foot speed, because of the angles. All that power is great. I just have to avoid that one shot. I believe that I can do that. I know I can pick him apart and score points.”

What has Joshua said about the fight?

Despite being the odds-on favourite for victory, Joshua says he is approaching the eight-round contest seriously.

“You can’t underestimate anyone. I’m going to take him seriously,” Joshua said. “After a year out, I’ve realigned a lot in my life. I got my focus back to where it needs to be.”

Joshua, who has 25 career KOs as a pro, acknowledged that anything short of a quick knockout win will be perceived as additional erosion of his standing among the elite heavyweights.

“I’ve seen it. I’ve heard it,” he added. “As I said to Jake respectfully, I need to cut him up. I need to break him up, and I need to hurt him. That’s just what we do.”

Who is fighting in the co-main event?

In the co-main event, it will be an all-North American women’s matchup with Alycia Baumgardner of the United States putting two of her three World super featherweight titles (IBF, WBO) on the line against Canadian challenger Leila Beaduoin.

Baumgardner, aka “The Bomb”, hasn’t been defeated since 2018 and will start as the strong favourite in the eighth title match of her professional career.

Beaduoin, who is riding a four-fight winning streak, will need to be at her all-time best to upset the champ on Friday.

Full undercard

Main card (From 8pm | 01:00 GMT on Saturday)

• Jake Paul vs Anthony Joshua – heavyweight (8x3min rounds)
• Alycia Baumgardner vs Lela Beaudoin – IBF & WBO super-featherweight world titles (12x3min rounds)
• Anderson Silva vs Tyron Woodley – cruiserweight (6x3min rounds)
• Jahmal Harvey vs Kevin Cervantes – featherweight (6x3min rounds)

Preliminary card (From 4.45pm | 21:45 GMT on Friday)

• Cherneka Johnson vs Amanda Galle – undisputed bantamweight title (10x2min rounds)
• Yokasta Valle vs Yadira Bustillos – WBC strawweight world title (10x2min rounds)
• Avious Griffin vs Justin Cardona – welterweight (8x3min rounds)

Australia’s government is fending off political attacks from inside and outside the country after the Bondi massacre. Israeli leaders and interest groups have been condemned for trying to politicise the killings, as Soraya Lennie explains.

US President Donald Trump claimed on Monday that an agreement to end Russia’s nearly four-year war against Ukraine is “closer than ever” after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy held talks with several European leaders and US diplomats in the German capital, Berlin.

During the two days of high-level talks in Berlin, diplomats discussed how to secure Ukraine against future military threats from Russia, among other sticking issues.

Before the Berlin meetings, Zelenskyy said Kyiv was willing to drop its NATO ambition in exchange for legally binding security guarantees. Russia used the NATO expansion as one of the justifications for its invasion in 2022.

European leaders, however, say key differences are yet to be resolved between Moscow and Kyiv over territorial issues.

Is a ceasefire agreement finally within reach?

What was discussed in the meeting in Berlin?

The Berlin meetings were attended by US envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, as well as key leaders from France, Germany, the United Kingdom and NATO.

In a statement after the talks, European leaders said they and the United States were committed to working together to provide “robust security guarantees” to Ukraine, including a European-led “multinational force Ukraine” supported by the US.

They said the force’s work would include “operating inside Ukraine” as well as assisting in rebuilding Ukraine’s forces, securing its skies and supporting safer seas. They said that Ukrainian forces should remain at a peacetime level of 800,000.

Two US officials, speaking to the Reuters news agency, described the proposed protections as “Article 5-like”, a reference to NATO’s Article 5 mutual defence pledge – meaning an attack on one is an attack on all.

Speaking to reporters in Berlin, Zelenskyy said that Kyiv needed a clear understanding of the security guarantees on offer before making any decisions on territorial control under a potential peace settlement. He added that any guarantees must include effective ceasefire monitoring.

Ukrainian officials have been cautious about what form such guarantees could take. Kyiv received security assurances backed by the US and Europe after gaining independence in 1991, but those did not prevent Russia’s invasions in 2014 (Crimea) and 2022.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Washington had offered “considerable” security guarantees during the Berlin talks.

“What the US has placed on the table here in Berlin, in terms of legal and material guarantees, is really considerable,” Merz said at a joint news conference with Zelenskyy.

Russia has yet to comment on the proposals.

What has Trump said about the Russia-Ukraine war?

“We’re having tremendous support from European leaders. They want to get it [the war] ended also,” Trump told reporters on Monday.

“We had numerous conversations with President [Vladimir] Putin of Russia, and I think we’re closer now than we have been, ever, and we’ll see what we can do.”

Since coming to power in January, the US president has been making efforts to end the war and has pressed Ukraine to offer concessions.

Several rounds of high-level discussions, including an Alaska summit between Trump and Putin in August, and draft peace proposals have failed to end Europe’s deadliest war since World War II.

What did Zelenskyy say?

In an X post, Zelenskyy wrote on Monday that “if these meetings had taken place earlier, the progress would have been even greater”, referring to meetings with Witkoff and Kushner.

“Of course, we have different positions with Russia regarding territories. This must be acknowledged and discussed openly. I believe that the American side, acting as a mediator, will propose various steps to try to find at least some form of consensus,” Zelenskyy wrote.

“We will do everything possible to find clear answers to questions about security guarantees, territories, and money as compensation for Ukraine to rebuild. It is necessary to understand the source of this funding.”

Ukraine had earlier signalled it may be willing to abandon its ambition to join the NATO military alliance in exchange for firm Western security guarantees. The Trump administration has been against NATO membership for Kyiv.

He added, “We are discussing security guarantees. And before taking any steps on the battlefield, both the military and the civilian population must have a clear understanding of what the security guarantees will be. This is very important.”

It is unclear what particular security guarantees Ukraine would receive, and which countries will contribute to providing them.

Addressing the Dutch parliament on Tuesday, Zelenskyy said that Ukraine and Europe are working on a document that could “stop the killing,” adding that “every single detail matters” and “every detail represents a human life”, according to Al Jazeera’s Audrey MacAlpine, reporting from Kyiv.

McAlpine said that Zelenskyy is mirroring the language of Trump, who has said the phrase “stop the killing” time and time again.

“He’s talking about documents. We know, before this meeting in Berlin, there were three documents in circulation. Now it appears from comments from Zelenskyy that there are five documents, the details of which we are still waiting to gather. But certainly it’s an evolving landscape with lots of difficult and nuanced pieces which we’re still waiting to get more information on,” McAlpine added.

Is a ceasefire truly ‘closer than ever’?

Experts doubt it.

“Trump has repeatedly claimed that a peace deal is close without sustainable agreement,” Keir Giles, a Russian military expert at London think tank Chatham House, told Al Jazeera.

Another foreign policy expert, Nathalie Tocci, believes “it’s extremely unlikely that a ceasefire is going to be reached now.”

“I think that it’s far more likely that we’re going to remain in the context of ongoing war,” Tocci, director at the Istituto Affari Internazionali, told Al Jazeera. She added that this is because issues of territory and security remain unresolved.

Russia controls nearly 20 percent of eastern Ukraine and has been slowly gaining territory as Ukraine’s military has been weakened by desertions and dwindling military aid. Moscow annexed the Ukrainian region of Crimea in 2014.

“It’s probably impossible that Ukrainians will voluntarily withdraw from these territories unless we will also see a withdrawal of Russian forces on the other side,” Tocci told Al Jazeera.

Al Jazeera’s McAlpine also said that one of the main sticking points is the question of territory.

She added that Zelenskyy has recently been firm on not giving up the Ukrainian territory of Donbas (in the country’s east). “We know that the Russian side is hoping to control the entirety of the Donbas region. Ukraine would prefer to draw the lines where they are,” McAlpine said.

“Recent polling here in Ukraine shows that 75 percent of Ukrainians reject withdrawal from the Donbas region.” They back the idea of freezing the current front line.

Giles from Chatham House said that there are still parallel negotiation tracks – one involving the US and Ukraine, and another between Ukraine and European nations. He added that there is no clear evidence that these efforts are fully coordinated or aligned in terms of strategy.

“There is no guarantee that anything agreed will be accepted by Russia, and reason to think that anything that was agreed is achievable,” Giles added.

“The key ingredient to make a ceasefire possible remains exactly as it has always been. Russia will only agree to stop fighting if it feels that it will gain more from a ceasefire than it will from continuing to attack Ukraine,” he said.

What will end the war in Ukraine?

“The answer to what will end the fighting remains the same that it always has been, for Russia to be beaten back and for Ukraine to be beaten into submission,” Giles said.

Giles explained that Russia and Ukraine can not agree on the same terms for a ceasefire because their war aims are incompatible and “so far apart that they are exceptional in terms of modern wars.”

Trump has repeatedly echoed many of the demands by the Kremlin, including on territorial concessions. His initial 28-point plan to end the war included a clause on amnesty for Russian war crimes. Zelenskyy has expressed his opposition to it.

Giles said that after the 28-point plan, which has since been revised following pushback from European leaders, Russia feels it is at a disadvantage.