Jake Paul vs Anthony Joshua ‘Cancelled’ as Former Heavyweight Champion Reveals What He’s Heard

Jake Paul vs Anthony Joshua. Will it, won’t it? Well, according to a former heavyweight champion of the world, the controversial Netflix fight originally set for the 19th of December is OFF!

Jake Paul himself sent the internet into a frenzy earlier this week when he teased a huge announcement, saying: “9AM EST Tuesday. Major update. Had to be done. It is what it is.”

We now know that announcement was him revealing the signing of Caroline Dubois to Most Valuable Promotions, but he backed that up by reiterating that the fight was still on.

Bermane Stiverne Reveals What He’s Heard About Jake Paul vs Anthony Joshua

However, since said fiasco on social media, former heavyweight champion of the world, Bermane Stiverne, has revealed some interesting insight into what he’s heard surrounding the controversial fight.

Stiverne, who was the WBC champion from 2014 to 2015, has revealed that he’s heard the fight is off due to The Problem Child getting hurt in sparring. It has been well documented that Paul is sparring legit heavyweights in preparation for the Joshua fight, so it wouldn’t be totally surprising if he did in fact get hurt.

“I’ve just heard somewhere that he was injured, that it’s not happening,” Stiverne told Gambleonline.ca. “I don’t know. I just heard not long ago it was cancelled. I don’t know what’s going on. Lawrence Okolie gave him a black eye or something and, from what I heard, the fight is not happening after sparring sessions [with world ranked fighters].

Stiverne’s comments are interesting, but it does seem a little farfetched that he would know the full truth about the status of the fight. However, images have surfaced in recent days of Jake Paul with a black eye, and his nose has also been questioned, with it looking slightly displaced in recent interviews.

Below, you can see footage of The Problem Child with a bruised eye, but also an out-of-shape nose, which has brought into question his condition going into such a risky fight with a two-time world heavyweight champion.

Is Jake Paul vs Anthony Joshua Still Happening?

Despite Stiverne’s comments, and the questions over Jake Paul’s condition after sparring legit heavyweights, as of writing this article, there has been no official confirmation stating the fight is off. Therefore, it’s currently still going ahead on the 19th of December.

Paul and Joshua have continued to promote the fight as well on their own socials, which is the biggest indication that the fight is still on, and the Netflix trailer even dropped last night, the 10th of December, which is further evidence that there are no plans to cancel.

However, Stiverne’s comments must’ve come from somewhere, and with still just over a week left, there’s plenty of time for the status of the fight to change. It’s safe to say a lot of boxing fans won’t truly believe this fight is happening until they see Jake Paul standing across the ring from Anthony Joshua. Until then, there will always be doubts and rumours.