Anthony Joshua reveals major personal change before Jake Paul fight

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Anthony Joshua has made a series of changes as he gets ready for one final push at reclaiming the heavyweight title.

The former two-time unified champion has always had his sights set on becoming undisputed. That journey begins again on Friday when he faces Jake Paul, a fight he sees as just the first step towards another title run. Originally, Joshua had planned to take on a lesser-known opponent in a private bout around this time, but that changed when the opportunity with Paul came up.

Instead of that quiet return, he’s now stepping into a major money fight broadcast by Netflix—one that will go on his official record, even if it looks mismatched on paper. Still, it gives him valuable time to work with his new team and put some important changes into practice.

Anthony Joshua turns to faith as Jake Paul fight nears

Plenty of people have told Jake Paul he needs a miracle to beat Anthony Joshua, but it’s the former world champion who’s leaning on faith as he heads into Friday night. Since being stopped by Daniel Dubois in his last fight, Joshua has made prayer a bigger part of his routine.

Joshua held a quiet open workout at LIV Nightclub in Miami, where he put in some light work with his new team before sitting down with a small group of reporters. The discussion focused on what changes he’s made during this final push for another shot at heavyweight gold.

“Maybe that I pray more,” Joshua said when asked about the biggest change. “That’s important. And I learnt that from the team, the importance of prayer. So yeah, that’s important to me and I pray more now.”

Jake Paul leans on faith ahead of Anthony Joshua bout

Paul, speaking to the media after Joshua, talked about how prayer has helped him stay calm in the build-up to the fight.

“I did [have concerns about the fight], but I asked Jesus to take them away from me and he did,” Paul noted. “I literally don’t feel any fear, so shout out to Jesus and the power of God and believing in your faith.

“I just keep praying and praying every single day and I know something amazing is going to happen. This is my moment, the start of a massive chapter for me.”