There’s always a point in these weeks where the training-room gossip starts leaking out. Usually it’s exaggerated. Sometimes it’s planted. This one doesn’t feel like either.
According to The Sun, Ryan Garcia is saying Jake Paul hasn’t been having an easy time in sparring, and that’s being polite about it. Garcia reckons Paul’s been getting worked by heavyweights who aren’t even Anthony Joshua, which is the part that should make people pause.
“I heard word that he’s getting beat up in sparring by these heavyweights. And these aren’t even Anthony Joshua, bro,” Garcia said. “S***, I’m leaking some s***. But… [Joshua] has got 50lbs on him.”
Garcia talks a lot. Everyone knows that. Still, sparring rumours don’t usually come from nowhere, and this one lines up with what we already knew about Paul’s camp.
Heavyweight Sparring Is a Different Animal
Paul didn’t mess around with the preparation. He brought in real heavyweights. Not blown-up names. Actual ranked fighters. Lawrence Okolie. Frank Sanchez. Men who know how to lean, push, and make every exchange feel heavier than it looks on video.
That’s where sparring tells the truth. Heavyweights don’t need to knock you out to hurt you. They sap your legs. They sit on your chest. They make you work for space. If Paul’s getting backed up, marked up, or rushed there, that matters more than any clean Instagram clip.
The Okolie Detail Matters
One detail stood out. Okolie reportedly left Paul with a black eye during a recent sparring session. That’s not scandalous on its own. Sparring gets messy. But Okolie is still learning the heavyweight game himself, and he’s not known as a savage finisher. If he’s landing clean enough to mark Paul up, it raises questions about how Paul handles size when it comes with discipline attached.
Joshua doesn’t spar like Okolie. He’s calmer. Meaner when he commits. And when a heavyweight senses he’s physically in control, he doesn’t rush. He waits until you show him you’re uncomfortable.
None of this guarantees anything. Sparring lies all the time. But it also whispers things fights sometimes confirm. The scenario that keeps coming back is Paul surviving early, slowing late, and realising too late that the size gap isn’t just visual. It’s cumulative.
That’s when heavyweight nights turn ugly.
‘Course sparring ain’t always tellin’ the whole story but when it line up with everything else we know? Then it’s probably true.
Them heavyweights not even goin’ full out and still givin’ him a black eye? That ain’t right 😳 Shows Paul bit off more than he can chew.
‘Xactly bro, if Okolie not even a killer and still bust him up, imagine what Joshua gonna do 💀
‘Bout time people stop pretendin’ Jake’s a top fighter just ‘cause he got money and followers 🤷
Ryan Garcia talkin’ all this mess like he always does, but maybe he got a point this time. If Jake can’t handle sparrin’, how’s he gonna handle a real fight?
Exactly! Sparring shows the truth and if Jake’s already gettin’ beat up, then what chance he got in the ring? None!
People act like Jake some kinda pro but he ain’t never fought someone real big with skills before. This just proves it.
I don’t care what anyone says, if Jake Paul is gettin’ beat up in sparrin’ then he ain’t ready. You can’t fake that. Real fighters don’t struggle like this in training.