Jake Paul has been backed by Anthony Joshua to beat Mike Tyson this summer.
The influencer-turned-boxer faces by far the most high-profile test of his short pugilistic career to date on July 20 when he takes on the heavyweight legend at the AT&T Stadium in Texas in a mammoth crossover fight that will be shown live on Netflix.
Tyson will be 58 by the time the exhibition bout comes around, with Paul his junior by some 31 years.
And former two-time unified world heavyweight champion Joshua believes that age disparity will be the deciding factor when the two men go head to head in Arlington as he also pledged his support for the controversial rise of influencer boxing.
“He [Tyson] is older now,” the Briton said on his upcoming appearance on the Jonathan Ross Show, being broadcast on ITV1 on Saturday night. “I pray that he comes out healthy.
“I think Jake Paul [wins] because of youth - that’s the only thing… I personally think [influencer boxing] is really good. I think the boxing hardcores, they don’t like it because they think, ‘Why are they disrespecting our sport?’
“But I think that person brings all these people into boxing which benefits everyone else. Everyone viewing helps.”
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Joshua also offered an update on his own future in the ring, confirming that he is expecting to fight again in September against an as yet unknown opponent.
‘AJ’ is on a four-fight winning streak after bouncing back from his pair of damaging successive defeats by Oleksandr Usyk and delivered a brutal second-round knockout of former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou in Saudi Arabia last month to follow victories over Otto Wallin, Robert Helenius and Jermaine Franklin.
Joshua said the message had been to remain patient in his bid to become a three-time heavyweight champion, with Usyk and Tyson Fury set to clash in their enormous rescheduled fight in Riyadh in May to crown the first undisputed king of boxing’s blue-riband division since Lennox Lewis in 2000.
“Around September is when I’ve been told, I was hoping for June,” Joshua said when quizzed on his next fight.
“I’ve got some time to go on dates now and mingle a little bit. I’m training at the minute, I’ve got two months before I get into training camp.
“No, [I don’t know the opponent], but I think what they’re saying is, ‘Be patient,’ because you’ve got Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk for all the belts. And then once that’s done, hopefully I can kick down the door and get my opportunity.
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“[Fury] is one of my rivals. This is someone I want to compete with one day, so everything he says... I’ve got it all stored in the back of my memory, and when the fight happens, I’m going to use it as a lot of fuel.”