Jake Paul has been left with a ‘bad’ nose injury just over per week from his fight with Anthony Joshua.
The YouTuber-turned-boxer will tackle the two-time heavyweight world champion in Miami next Friday in an expert bout being billed as considered one of the largest mismatches in boxing history.
Paul was originally scheduled to fight Gervonta Davis in November – a person half Joshua’s weight and over a foot shorter. When those plans modified, the American set about recruiting giants of the heavyweight division to affix his fight camp for sparring.
Lawrence Okolie, once a protégé of Joshua, has made the trip out to Puerto Rico with American star Jared Anderson also working with Paul within the ring. Title contender Frank Sanchez has also been in camp, leaving some damage on Paul after one particularly intense session.
Paul appeared on the Pat McAfeee Show along with his nose visibly crooked after being ‘cracked’ by Sanchez.
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Paul didn’t confirm whether it had been broken, telling the show: ‘It’s much more crooked, brother. I’m not going to lie, sparring the heavyweights has moved my nose a few millimetres this camp.
‘A man by the name of Frank Sanchez definitely cracked it a bit bit so it definitely has a slight little something in there. But yeah man, it’s bad.’
It isn’t the primary sparring incident that has left Paul marked up. Last week, the American was spotted sporting a black eye, later revealing the 6ft 6in Okolie did the damage.
Paul has shared pictures of him alongside the heavyweight giants in his gym but one former world champion believes those training partners have been holding back.
Carl Froch, who still fears the fight might be called off just eight days away from the opening bell, has demanded Paul release the training footage, unconvinced there may be any real sparring occurring behind the scenes.
‘They’re not sparring f****g Jake Paul,’ Froch told GamesHub.
‘They’re moving around with him, touching him up with a bit jab and the little technical bulls**t. They’re not sparring him.
‘Lawrence Okolie is sort of an excellent puncher. He’s big now. Jake Paul’s not adequate to spar him. So let’s see the footage. Let’s see the sparring after which I’ll imagine it.
‘I still don’t imagine the Jake Paul vs AJ fight goes to occur, but I’ve got flights booked.’
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