Jake Paul has backed Tyson Fury to defeat Anthony Joshua and believes the heavyweight champion is "unbeatable".
Fury is set to return to the ring after shelving his retirement plans and offering long-term rival Joshua the chance to compete for his WBC belt. The 'Gypsy King' was expected to face Oleksandr Usyk for the undisputed crown, but instead had a contract drawn up for Joshua who has accepted the offer and is currently reviewing the deal before it is finalised.
The 34-year-old will go into the contest as overwhelming favourite with Joshua stepping into the ring on the back of two consecutive defeats to Usyk. And Paul has compared Fury's movement to legendary fighter Muhammad Ali and believes his performances against Deontay Wilder show his pedigree as the current leading heavyweight.
“That’s a huge fight,” Paul told talkSPORT as the all-British duel between Fury and Joshua draws near to completion. " think it’s a fight that needs to happen for the sport of boxing to continue to grow and make waves and continue to take over MMA, which is failing recently, specifically the UFC. I think that fight needs to happen so that boxing is number one in combat sports.
“I have got to go with Tyson Fury man. I really like Anthony Joshua. He’s a dope guy, he inspires me, but Tyson’s just not beatable man, unfortunately. He’s too big and has too much skill. He’s 270lbs, 280lbs sometimes, bouncing up and down in the ring like Muhammad Ali, has an amazing chin that withstood dozens of punches from Deontay Wilder – the hardest puncher in heavyweight history. So, he’s just not beatable I don’t think."
Fury is undefeated in his heavyweight career and successfully defended his belt against Dillian Whyte earlier this year. It was expected that he would hang up his gloves, but many inside his camp suggested that he would be willing to step back in the ring if Joshua were to be his opponent.
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Joshua failed to win back his unified titles last month in Saudi Arabia against Usyk but will now be given a unique opportunity to win the belt he has yet to pick up during his time in the division. The pair were set to meet last year with all of the heavyweight belts on the line but after signing the contract, the fight collapsed with Fury forced to accept a trilogy bout with Wilder.
However his promoter Frank Warren is quietly confident the fight will be confirmed this time round with the deal just now needing Joshua's go ahead. Warren wrote in his Daily Star column: "The contracts have been sent to Anthony Joshua ’s team. They will have arrived on Friday morning. Now we wait for them to go through them and sign so we can get one of British boxing’s biggest events on. All our side is on board for this fight."