Sports
Sparring Partner Reveals All About Problem Child’s Camp
We are now just a matter of days away from Jake Paul taking on Anthony Joshua in a professional heavyweight boxing match, and with the clock ticking and fight night fast approaching, one of the former’s sparring partners has spoken out about the camp they just had in preparation for the fight.
After Jake Paul’s proposed fight with Gervonta Davis fell through due to legal reasons involving the latter, the search for a new opponent for the 19th of December started. Eventually, they landed on two-time champion Anthony Joshua, a man who is considerably different to Davis, in more ways than one.
That change in opponent meant The Problem Child needed a change in sparring partners, so he quickly drafted in three top-tier heavyweights to help him prepare for the fight with AJ. Frank Sanchez, Jared Anderson, and Lawrence Okolie were the three called up, and they quickly got to work with the YouTuber-turned-boxer.
Jake Paul’s Sparring For Anthony Joshua Fight
Although it was only sparring, Jake Paul and co. got down to serious work in camp, even resulting in a few injuries to the 28-year-old. Photos of him emerged with a black eye, which were soon followed by new shots of his nose being battered and bruised following sparring sessions. Jake himself even admitted that his nose had been moved a few millimetres due to the shots he’d been taking in training.
“It’s even more crooked. I’m not going to lie, sparring the heavyweights, my nose has moved a couple of millimetres this camp. A guy by the name of Frank Sanchez, he definitely cracked it a little bit, so it definitely has a slight little something in there. But, yeah man, it’s bad!”
Although he admitted to his nose being busted, it was not damaged enough for him to call off the fight. That is despite the rumours going around that the contest was to be cancelled due to said injuries sustained in sparring.
Now, just a couple of days out from the controversial fight, one of Jake’s sparring partners has spoken out about the camp they just went through, and he revealed what surprised him the most about the former Disney star.
Frank Sanchez on Sparring Jake Paul
Sanchez is the heavyweight in question who cracked Paul’s nose during their sparring sessions, and he recently revealed how surprised he was by the former YouTuber.
“I spent three weeks with Jake,” Sanchez told Sky Sports. “What surprised me most is that Jake is a professional, hard worker, and his boxing has definitely improved since he began.
“I personally am looking forward to his fight with Joshua. Jake is showing lots of courage to make such a difficult fight. I think boxing fans will admire that he is not afraid to fight one of the best heavyweight boxers in the world.
“I like Jake Paul and wish him the best.”
The heavyweights who have sparred with Jake Paul may be supportive of him going into the fight, and may have been impressed by what he conjured up during training, but fight night is something completely different. He will have to produce the performance of his life if he is to get anywhere close to Anthony Joshua.
When all things are considered, and when looking at the physiques of both men on fight week, and comparing their pad work from the open workout they held on Tuesday night, Jake Paul will need a miracle to defeat Anthony Joshua… but stranger things have happened, especially in the world of professional boxing.
