MIAMI BEACH, Florida – There’s no shortage of confidence coming from Jake Paul entering what is unequivocally the toughest test of his career.

Paul proclaimed himself the better boxer than two-time unified heavyweight champion and 2012 Olympic gold medalist Anthony Joshua ahead of their clash Friday night at Kaseya Center in Miami.

“In terms of boxing, I’m a better boxer than AJ, which is hilarious to say,” Paul said on Tuesday. “He’s got two left feet, he’s stiff. If I was his coach, I’d put him in a dance class first before trying to box. [I’ve brought] in the right sparring partners to help me prepare so that I can get looks that are similar to him. That’s been the strategy, but I’m going to go in there and display all of my skills.”

Their bout is an eight-round heavyweight fight, though Joshua (28-4, 25 KOs) can’t weigh more than 245 pounds for a main event Netflix will stream. Both fighters will wear 10-ounce gloves, which is standard for a sanctioned heavyweight bout. The last time Joshua weighed under 245 pounds in a fight was in his rematch against two-time undisputed heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk in August 2022.

In Joshua’s five fights since then, he has weighed at least 250 pounds. The heaviest Paul (12-1, 7 KOs) has weighed in is 227.2 pounds for his infamous fight with Mike Tyson in November 2024.

Paul, 28, is coming off a one-sided, unanimous-decision victory over former middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. on June 28. He’s won six straight fights since suffering the lone loss of his career, a split-decision defeat to Tommy Fury in February 2023.

Joshua, 36, will fight for the first time since his fifth-round knockout loss to former IBF champ Daniel Dubois (22-3, 21 KOs) in September 2024 at Wembley Stadium in London.

His bout with Paul will also mark just the second time he’s fought in the U.S. His lone fight in the States resulted in one of boxing’s biggest upsets, a seventh-round stoppage loss to Andy Ruiz at Madison Square Garden in New York in June 2019.

Joshua avenged that defeat six months later when he won a wide unanimous decision against Ruiz to reclaim his heavyweight titles in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia.

The first match between Joshua and Ruiz has been what Paul pointed to as what’s going to transpire when they step into the ring. Joshua is logically the overwhelming favorite, 12-1 according to DraftKings.

“This is the biggest upset in sports history that’s about to take place on Friday,” Paul said.