The China Mail - Paul backs his 'delusional optimism' to upset Joshua

Paul, 28, who defeated a 58-year-old Mike Tyson in a heavily criticised fight screened on Netflix in 2024, will take on a vastly younger opponent when he faces the 36-year-old Joshua in an eight-round heavyweight bout on December 19 in Florida.

The fight, which will reportedly see both men divide a massive $184 million purse, has once again raised safety concerns across boxing, with the 6ft 1in Paul going up against the hard-hitting 6ft 6in Joshua, the 2012 Olympic champion and two-time unified heavyweight champion.

Former world champion David Haye warned earlier this week the fight could be Paul's "last day on earth". The British Boxing Board of Control meanwhile has said it would not have sanctioned the fight on safety grounds.

Paul, whose limited ring record includes 12 wins and one defeat, with seven knockouts, will be at a sizeable, height, weight and reach disadvantage against Joshua, who has 25 knockouts amongst his 28 career wins, with only four defeats.

However the trash-talking American was adamant on Friday that he has the tools to stop Joshua as the two men faced off in a promotional event for next month's Netflix special.

Asked by a moderator if he had "lost his mind" by opting to take on Joshua, Paul replied: "I like to challenge myself against the best. We're going to go to war and the best man will win.

"I have gotten to where I am today because of delusional optimism. It's delusion until it's not. It's got me to where I am today. No one ever thought that this would be possible, that we would be here when I first started boxing, and no one thinks I'm going to win. So join the list and be ready to be shocked."

- 'Break his face' -

Joshua, meanwhile, who towered above Paul during Friday's event, warned he is ready to deliver an emphatic victory.

After praising Paul's "solid" mentality and vowing to give him "respect", Joshua stated: "If I'm gonna be honest, I'm gonna break his face, I'm gonna break his body up, I'm gonna stomp all over him."

"That's my mentality, a fighter's mentality. I'm here to compete. I'm here to prove that I'm the better fighter," he added.

Joshua, whose last fight was a fifth round knockout loss to fellow Briton Daniel Dubois in September last year, meanwhile revealed that he had been training in Spain with Ukraine's reigning WBA, WBC and IBF heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk after splitting with former trainer Ben Davison.

"I won't be trained by Ben Davison," Joshua said. "London's a bit distracting for me so I was invited to train with team Usyk. I've been in Spain, we've been doing some good training.

"Usyk's one of the best in the world. It's not just down to him, it's down to his team that's around him. I linked up with them, getting an insight into how someone has achieved so much has been phenomenal."

S.Wilson--ThChM