Whispers in the shadows of Matchroom HQ don’t lie.
They say Anthony Joshua hasn’t been the same since that fifth-round right hand from Daniel Dubois detonated on his chin at Wembley.
They say the elbow surgery was only half the story. They say the real injury is deeper, invisible, and it’s called fear. And right now, that fear has a name: Jake Paul’s right hand. December 19, Kaseya Center, Miami, Florida, Netflix cameras rolling. Eight threes, 10-ounce gloves. On paper it’s an exhibition. In reality it’s the night Joshua’s nightmares get a face tattoo.
Look at the footage nobody wants to talk about.
When Paul flattened Mike Perry in Tampa (one minute, one second), Joshua was ringside for DAZN, mic in hand. Watch the clip again. The moment Perry hits the deck, the camera catches AJ. His eyes widen, mouth tight, zero smile. That wasn’t respect. That was recognition. He saw the same whip-crack speed that Dubois used to switch his lights off. Same arc, same hip turn, same vicious end. Perry weighed 200 lbs that night. Joshua knows he walks in at 250 on a good day, but weight means nothing when the button gets pressed.
Paul’s last six wins: five knockouts, all inside three rounds.
The victims read like a heavyweight hit-list: Andre August (200+ pro boxer), Ryan Bourland (former Golden Gloves), Nate Diaz (UFC iron chin), Anderson Silva (legend), Tyron Woodley (twice). Every single one tasted that same overhand right. Joshua’s camp has the tapes on loop. They see the pattern: feint low, load the right, explode upstairs. They know Dubois dropped him four times with lesser versions of that shot. They know Ngannou floored him with a clubbing hook that had half the velocity. And they know Paul lands it cleaner than both.
The Forbidden View: Joshua Is Scared to Death of Jake Paul’s Power
Eddie Hearn keeps repeating the script: “AJ’s levels above, it’s just business.”
But watch Hearn’s body language on the last IFL episode. When the host asked about Paul’s power, Eddie laughed too loud, looked away, changed subject in three seconds flat. That’s not confidence. That’s a man praying the subject dies. Joshua himself? Every interview now he talks about “respecting the game,” “taking it serious,” “big gloves, short rounds.” Translation: I’ve seen what happens when I eat one clean. I’m hoping the equipment saves me.
The forbidden truth nobody in British media will print: Joshua is terrified of being knocked out again on a global stage. Not just beaten; embarrassed. Knocked stiff by a YouTuber in front of 300 million Netflix subs. That fear is why he accepted eight rounds instead of twelve. That fear is why the gloves went up to 10s. That fear is why, deep down, he already knows one moment of complacency and the lights go out again.
Paul smells it. He’s said it plain: “I’m putting him to sleep in front of the world.”
Joshua hears it every day on social media, every viral clip, every mock countdown. And every time Paul says it, Joshua’s subconscious flashes back to Wembley: canvas, silence, the roar turning to pity.
December 19 isn’t about money or legacy anymore.
It’s about whether Anthony Joshua can walk to the ring knowing one clean right hand ends everything he’s rebuilt. And the forbidden view, the one his own team won’t admit out loud, is simple: he’s scared to death it will.
Joshua will have some concerns mentally going into this — make no mistake.
