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Andreas Hale
Most Valuable Promotions has revealed the undercard for Jake Paul vs. Anthony Joshua on Dec. 19 at Kaseya Center in Miami, which will air live on Netflix.
The undercard form Paul’s previously scheduled fight with Gervonta Davis remains largely intact, with Alycia Baumgardner’s unified super featherweight title defense against Leila Beaudoin staying as the co-main event. However, Anderson Silva will no longer face former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman in the main card opener. Instead, fellow former UFC champion Tyron Woodley will step up to face Silva in a six-round cruiserweight matchup.
Both Silva and Woodley have lost to Paul in the past. Silva dropped a narrow unanimous decision to Paul in 2022 while Woodley lost both of his fights to “The Problem Child,” a split decision in August 2021 and a brutal knockout loss in the rematch that December.
“I believe that change always happens for a reason,” Silva said in a statement. “I am focused on doing a good job. Always respecting my opponent and showing total respect to the boxing world.”
Weidman was forced out of the fight against Silva due to injury.
Woodley held the UFC welterweight title from 2016 to 2019 and hopes to pick up his first win in a boxing ring against one of the greatest MMA champions of all-time.
“Rising to occasions like this are the moments where legends are born,” Woodley said.
The preliminary undercard will still feature Cherneka “Sugar Neekz” Johnson’s undisputed bantamweight title defense against Amanda Galle, Yokasta Valle putting her WBC strawweight title on the line against Yadira Bustillos and Avious Griffin facing Justin Cardona in a welterweight fight. Two-time Brazilian Olympian Keno Marley will make his pro debut in a four-round cruiserweight fight against Diarra Davis.
The WBA super lightweight title fight between champion Gary Antuanne Russell and Andy Hiraoka is no longer featured on the undercard.
“Anderson Silva vs. Tyron Woodley is an iconic matchup, continuing to elevate Jake vs. Joshua: Judgment Day into one of the most scintillating combat sports events of the decade,” Nakisa Bidarian, CEO of Most Valuable Promotions, said in the statement. “This is the gladiatorial sport spectacle of the 21st century. A main event that has engaged the entire world. Bringing back two of the MMA GOATS into the spotlight on a global stage, live on Netflix, reflects the magnitude of this card.
“Alycia Baumgardner making a 12×3:00 unified title defense in the co-main event and stepping up beside Amanda Serrano in the history books with this statement for equality, and a championship-stacked undercard featuring Cherneka Johnson, Yokasta Valle, and more, Friday, December 19 is poised to become one of the most unforgettable nights in boxing history.”