JAKE PAUL has the same chance of beating Anthony Joshua than Francis Ngannou did, his former opponent said.
YouTuber-turned-boxer Paul has either bravely or stupidly signed to face two-time heavyweight world champ AJ on December 19 in Florida.
It comes nearly two years after Joshua flattened ex-UFC champion Ngannou – who is used to taking brutal knees and elbows to the head – in two one-sided rounds.
But Tyron Woodley – the former UFC welterweight twice beaten by Paul in 2021 – reckons the daredevil American is no more of an outsider than Ngannou was.
He told SunSport: “I think Jake has the same chance that Francis Ngannou would have had.
“Francis fought Anthony and we all thought he had a chance based on his fight with Tyson Fury.
“I feel like as far as boxing skill, Jake is a better boxer than Francis Ngannou was.
“Now Francis had more power but you got a lighter guy that can move around, you’ve got to give him a chance.
“And also, Anthony Joshua’s almost used to being the point guard heavyweight, this will be a situation where someone is faster and moves a little more than he does.”
Paul, 28, beat Woodley, 43, on points before knocking him out with a clubbing right hook.
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In the four years since, he lost for the first and only time to Tommy Fury, 26, in 2023 before earning a modest 12-1 record.
He helped launch Netflix into the boxing market after controversially bringing Mike Tyson, 58, out of retirement for their November fight.
Paul won a laboured points decision over eight rounds with 100 MILLION tuning in with the hopes of watching a dose of nostalgia.
AJ now finds himself fighting on the streaming service after Gervonta Davis, 30, was pulled out of his November 14 exhibition with Paul amid allegations of domestic abuse.
Joshua – yet to return since his September 2024 knockout loss to Daniel Dubois – could hardly believe his luck when Paul amazingly accepted his offer to step in on a months notice.
And with the two to split a prize pot of around £100MILLION – Woodley recognises the intrigue this fight will generate.
He said: “I feel like Jake’s good at making fights that people didn’t know they needed to watch.
“We didn’t know we needed to watch Jake Paul vs Mike Tyson, or Anderson Silva, or myself.
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“I feel like, as long as you keep doing these win-win situations, if he beats him or he loses to him, it’s still a win. I will watch it.”
