There's something genuinely embarrassing about the state of Anthony Joshua's recent opponents when the man who nearly beat him is a YouTuber.
That's where we are. Nakisa Bidarian, partner at Most Valuable Promotions — Jake Paul's promotional outfit — has come out and said publicly that Paul gave AJ a tougher night than Kristian Prenga did. And the maddening thing is that he's not wrong.
The Prenga Problem
Prenga was supposed to be a statement fight. A chance for Joshua to look sharp, composed, dangerous again. What we got instead was a performance so one-sided it barely registered as a boxing match. If the Paul fight showed AJ could be wobbled, hurt, and pushed to the edge of a stoppage loss, then Prenga showed... nothing. Absolutely nothing of note about where Joshua actually stands as a fighter.
Bidarian saying Paul was the tougher test isn't spin — it's a plain reading of what happened in both fights. Paul brought pressure, awkward angles, genuine moments of jeopardy. Prenga brought a puncher's chance that never materialised and an early exit. The contrast is stark enough that even MVP's team feel comfortable pointing it out.
The boxing world has spent years debating whether Paul's opponents were credible. [We've seen real fighters put in genuine efforts only to fall short in title run](/getohedz/boxing/walsh-into-gold-medal-match-as-gallaghers-title-run-ends), while Paul's circus somehow keeps producing nights that are harder to dismiss than anyone expected. It's uncomfortable, but the scorecards and the footage don't lie.
What It Actually Tells Us
Here's the read: Joshua's team have been managing a legacy carefully since the Usyk losses. Protect the brand, rebuild the record, keep AJ looking good on highlights. That's a legitimate strategy. But it's also one that can backfire when the optics turn against you — and having a promoter from Paul's camp publicly state that their man gave you a harder evening than your most recent professional opponent is exactly the kind of headline that cuts through.
It doesn't mean Joshua is washed. It doesn't mean Paul is elite. What it means is that matchmaking matters enormously, and when the gap between a crossover spectacle and a scheduled professional fight is this visible, questions get asked.
[Fighters who go out on their own terms tend to do so having faced the fire](/getohedz/boxing/eccles-retires-and-calls-out-those-who-tried-to-end-her-career). The ones who get managed too carefully into retirement often look back and wonder whether the comfortable route served them well. AJ still has time to reshape what the final chapter looks like — but soft fights don't build legacies, they delay reckoning.
Our Take
Bidarian saying this out loud is smart PR from MVP's side, and it's also just accurate. Paul pushed Joshua in ways that Prenga never did. That's not a compliment to Paul so much as it is an indictment of the level Prenga brought. Joshua needs proper, credible opposition — not for his record, but for his reputation. A blowout win over a light test does less for him than people think. The boxing public remembers the nights that meant something. Right now, Paul-Joshua meant more than Prenga-Joshua, and that should bother everyone in AJ's corner.