Ryan Garcia has serious doubts about Jake Paul’s chances in his upcoming showdown with Anthony Joshua — and he isn’t shy about saying so.
The lightweight star, long floated as a potential Paul opponent, shared his honest thoughts during a recent X Spaces session. Garcia believes Paul may have bitten off far more than he can chew by agreeing to an eight-round professional boxing match against two-time unified heavyweight champion and Olympic gold medalist Anthony Joshua.
“My honest opinion, I think this has been a misstep from Jake,” Garcia said. “I think he wanted to make his partners at Netflix a little too happy, and he’s going to walk into it. But like, he loses to A.J., where does he go from here?”
A Massive Challenge for Jake Paul
The fight is scheduled for December 19 at the Kaseya Center in Miami.
It will mark Paul’s 11th professional bout, while Joshua enters with 28 fights and a decorated heavyweight resume. By all standards, this will be the most dangerous opponent Jake Paul has ever faced.
Garcia worries the consequences could be severe.
“It can be life-changing in many ways, physically and mentally,” Garcia warned. “Did you see what Joshua did to Francis Ngannou?”
Garcia went further, saying a knockout loss could derail Paul’s momentum, marketability, and future matchups.
“If he gets knocked out, he gets knocked out. Nobody expects anything. Who is he going to fight? I’m not going to want to fight him after he gets knocked out. You think the money is still there?”
Garcia Gives Jake Paul ‘One in a Million’ Odds
Like many boxing analysts and fans reacting to the matchup announcement, Garcia doesn’t see a realistic path to victory for Paul.
“How are you going to react when that big shot hits you? You think you’ll snap back into it and know what to do? No, not going to happen,” he said.
When asked how often Paul could beat Joshua in hypothetical repeated matchups, Garcia didn’t hesitate.
“I think he can maybe win one out of a million times they fight.”
With expectations stacked overwhelmingly against him, Jake Paul now faces the toughest test of his career — and possibly a career-defining moment