Jake Paul’s betting odds are better than five of Anthony Joshua’s past opponents, including boxer who beat him

Jake Paul is expected to be the easiest fight of Anthony Joshua’s career, but the betting odds don’t reflect that.

You’d be hard-pressed to find someone outside of Paul’s camp (besides Tyson Fury) who is picking the YouTuber-turned-boxer to win on December 19.

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It seems almost inconceivable that a content creator who first laced up the gloves seven years ago could possibly beat a two-time unified heavyweight champion on the right side of 40.

And yet ‘The Problem Child’ is trending as less of an underdog than five of Joshua’s previous title-challenging opponents.

Andy Ruiz Jr (+1200 or 12/1) – June 2019

Paul is currently 7/1 or +700 to defeat Joshua with the bookies.

That is almost half the +1200 (12/1) odds Andy Ruiz Jr closed on before he knocked out AJ on five weeks’ notice.

In hindsight, the lines were all wrong.

Most punters got carried away with Ruiz Jr’s rotund physique and disregarded his boxing skills.

This was a man who many felt was unlucky not to have beaten Joseph Parker for the WBO heavyweight title only three years prior.

Eric Molina (+2000 or 20/1) – December 2016

The biggest underdog of any of Joshua’s former foes was Molina.

At +2000 (20/1), he was barely given any shot of beating AJ, and having previously coming up well short of Chris Arreola and Deontay Wilder, the differential was understandable.

Joshua barely broke a sweat as he quickly forced the American onto his heels and stopped him against the ropes in the third round.

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Carlos Takam (+1600 or 16/1) – October 2017

French-Cameroonian Carlos Takam, like Ruiz Jr, was a late replacement opponent.

He stepped in for Kubrat Pulev after the Bulgarian suffered a shoulder injury ten days before fight night.

By this point, Takam had already been bested by Alexander Povetkin and Parker, and even though he showed immense durability against Joshua, it was a one-sided affair in the end.

AJ battered Takam from pillar to post en route to the eventual tenth-round stoppage, which some felt came a touch early.

Dominic Breazeale (+950 or 19/2) – June 2016

Breazeale was an unknown quantity when he locked horns with Joshua in June 2016.

The most notable name on his 17-0 resume up to that point was Amir Mansour, who lasted two rounds with Filip Hrgovic.

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The former American football player was one inch taller than Joshua and outweighed him by 12lbs.

That is where his advantages ended.

He barely laid a glove on Joshua and was knocked out in the seventh round.

Robert Helenius (+800 or 8/1) – August 2023

Helenius, although capable of springing an upset (i.e. Adam Kownacki), was viewed as nothing more than a sacrificial lamb for AJ, who, at the time, was in the midst of a career rebuild.

The Finn took the fight on four days’ notice after Dillian Whyte failed a pre-fight drug test.

And while he made a low on confidence fighter second-guess himself for seven rounds, he was flattened the moment Joshua found his range.

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