Former Anthony Joshua head coach Robert Garcia is the latest boxing luminary who’s predicting that Jake Paul will get a shellacking when he faces off against the former two-time unified heavyweight champion on Friday.

“I never thought the fight would get made. I never thought Jake Paul is crazy enough, but Jake Paul is f------ crazy. He takes those challenges. He knows that he's making a lot of money,” Garcia told The Ring.

“I remember when Mike Tyson was fighting in the '90s and we would say, 'How much money would it take for you to get knocked out by Mike Tyson?' And people would say, 'I'd do it for a million dollars.' If Jake Paul wants to get knocked the (expletive) out for $50 million, I don't blame him. I would do the same thing.

“Jake Paul is crazy enough, and he is going to make a huge event. It's going to be a great event. Jake Paul is doing great things in boxing. It doesn't matter that Anthony Joshua lost his last fight [against Daniel Dubois], or the issues that he's going through. It doesn't matter. He's a boxer and a real fighter, and he has great power. Jake Paul should have no chance against Anthony Joshua. Anthony Joshua should knock him out cold.”

Garcia, The Ring’s 2024 Trainer of the Year, and Joshua had a one-fight run together in 2022 when Joshua suffered a second decision defeat against Oleksandr Usyk. Joshua will head into the fight against Paul trained by Team Usyk for the first time in his career.

Joshua (28-4, 25 KOs) and Paul (12-1, 7 KOs) will meet at the Kaseya Center in Miami in an eight-rounder streamed globally on Netflix.

Joshua’s career-long promoter Eddie Hearn is also shocked the slugfest is being staged. Joshua was summoned to serve as a replacement opponent once original dance partner Gervonta Davis’ career was derailed due to domestic violence allegations.

The seemingly easy opportunity was too good to pass up for Joshua as he prepares for more meaningful matchups in 2026.

“As AJ put it, Paul is a loco, man,” Hearn told The Ring. “We can't quite believe it's happening. Even when we got approached about it, we were like, 'surely not.' How can we turn it down? We received a huge offer and it was a huge amount of money. It's an easy night of work. So why not?

“AJ is very motivated for the big fights and trying to become a world champion. This is just an opportunity that you can't turn down.

“We know what the plan is for next year, and we are committed to that. We had a conversation and agreement with Turki Alalshikh to fight in February and then fight Tyson Fury. This is literally just running out in December and making a pile load of money. Also, don't underestimate what this will do to our profile, particularly in the US as well. And then back to it – you know what I mean?