Underdog Paul being bet heavily to beat Joshua

In one corner, there’s Anthony Joshua, a 6-foot-6, 243-pound, two-time heavyweight champion and Olympic gold medalist, who owns one of the hardest punches in boxing. In the other corner stands Jake Paul, a 6-1, 216-pound YouTube influencer, whose only heavyweight fight came against a 58-year-old.

Guess who the betting public is backing?

Paul, a 7-1 underdog, had attracted 82% of the bets and 90% of the money that had been wagered at DraftKings on the winner of Friday’s sanctioned fight in Miami, Florida. DraftKings said, as of Thursday night, a Paul upset would result in nearly a $100 million loss for the sportsbook.

Joshua entered Friday as a -1200 favorite, meaning bettors would need to risk $1,200 for a chance at winning a net $100. Few bettors had been willing to lay that big of a price, but even so, the fight was trending toward being one of the most heavily bet boxing matches of the year at sportsbooks.

Brandon Yaeger, who oversees combat sports for Caesars Sportsbook, said, because of hefty price, he expects the overall amount wagered on the Paul-Joshua fight to be lower than how much was bet when Paul fought 58-year-old Mike Tyson in November 2024.

“Betting interest is definitely high,” Yaeger told ESPN. “The handle has already passed the last fight between Paul and [Julio Cesar] Chavez Jr. So far, the largest bet has been $90,000 to win $10,000 on Joshua.”

At the Hard Rock Bet sportsbook in Florida, the action was also lopsided on the underdog.

“Florida loves Jake Paul, it’s really as simple as that,” Neil Walsh, senior vice president of Hard Rock Bet sportsbook, told ESPN. “We are seeing one-way action here, not unexpectedly.”