Jake Paul is set to walk out against Anthony Joshua in just under an hour, but fans think they've already identified the mysterious musician he's promised to emerge with.
The YouTuber-turned-athlete is facing the toughest test of his boxing career so far when he comes up against the two-time heavyweight champion later this evening in Miami, with the fight set to begin at 4am UK time.
Many boxing experts have raised concerns about the health and safety of the event given the two boxers' respective experience and reputation, but Joshua has made it clear that he won't show his 28-year-old opponent any mercy in the ring.
Joshua, of course, is looking to bounce back from his defeat to Daniel Dubois, his last professional fight, which took place in September 2024.
Advert
His promoter, Eddie Hearn, said: "I have no real defence of Anthony Joshua versus Jake Paul. It's crazy that it's happening, and I think the critics are spot on. But we just couldn't turn it down. We took a fight that we believe will be very straightforward, will give AJ a huge profile in America and one of his career-high paydays.
"We have a clear strategy in mind - to knock Jake out asap. Then we go into normal service being resumed in 2026."
But with fans counting down the hours until we see the two men face up against each other in the ring, particularly after some controversy at their weigh-in earlier this week, fans have been forced to speculate a lot when it comes to predicting what they can expect.
One clue that Paul has given is about who and what he is going to walk out to, as he hinted that we might see a familiar face alongside him as he heads out for undoubtedly the biggest fight of his career.
"I have a very infamous artist walking me out with rainbow hair," Paul revealed. "That’s all I can say.”
Of course, fans immediately started guessing who this mystery artist could be, with ESPN journalist Andreas Hale himself asking: "That's not who I think it is. Is it?"
For those of you who aren't clued up on famous musicians with rainbow hair, fans seem to think that it's likely to be controversial American rapper Tekashi 6ix9ine, who is well-known for his rainbow-coloured dreadlocks or twists.
The 'Gucci Gang' singer was sentenced to two years in prison in 2019 for crimes he carried out while he was a member of a violent gang, and has kept a low profile since then, but he does have some prior beef with Paul, who'd previously suggested that he 'deserves to get his a** beat'.
What boxing fans haven't realised is that JoJo Siwa could also fit this exact description, and they'll both know each other from their time working at Disney.
Whatever happens in the walk-out, it might well be the most screen time that Paul ends up getting, considering many experts are backing Joshua to knock him out within the first two rounds.
Topics: Jake Paul, Anthony Joshua, Boxing, Tekashi 6ix9ine, Music, Eddie Hearn
James Moorhouse