Drake bets $200,000 on Jake Paul to beat Anthony Joshua, fueling 'Drake Curse' talk ahead of Miami bout

Drake has placed a $200,000 wager on Jake Paul to defeat Anthony Joshua in their high-profile boxing match, a bet that has quickly become one of the loudest talking points ahead of the fight. The wager, about £149,500, was posted on social media as Paul prepared to enter the ring in what promoters are calling a Netflix mega-fight against Joshua. The bet has already stoked chatter about the so-called “Drake Curse,” a superstition that has followed Drake’s betting tips in past combat sports showdowns.

The wager arrives as Paul, a recent entrant to professional boxing, aims to pull off a historic upset in Miami, where the bout is scheduled for Friday. The event is being framed as a marquee crossover moment, with Paul positioned as the unfancied option in a heavyweight test against a longtime, world-class champion.

Drake has previously seen bets go against him on boxing-related bets. Reports note a roughly $355,000 loss after backing Tyson Fury to beat Paul in a late-2024 bout, and a roughly $1.2 million wager tied to Paul’s 2023 fight with Tommy Fury, a bout that drew significant attention and high stakes for both sides. The contrasting outcomes in those bets have fed into the broader betting narrative surrounding this week’s clash in Miami, where fans and bookmakers alike are weighing the unlikely upset against Joshua’s credentials and experience.

Paul, speaking ahead of the fight, embraced the moment and signaled confidence in his own abilities. “One of us is going to sleep — that’s what we’re going to do here. That’s what this heavyweight fight is all about,” he said. “I started my boxing journey here in Miami. We’re bringing it back and I’m going to shock the world and pull off the biggest upset in sports history.”

The bout, set against the backdrop of Joshua’s established career and Paul’s rapid rise as a social-media–driven attraction, has drawn comparisons to other Netflix-era crossover cards that blend celebrity appeal with traditional boxing. Joshua arrives with a storied résumé at the center of the heavyweight division, while Paul has built a growing fan base through social media stunts, progressively refining his in-ring output and intent to prove naysayers wrong in high-stakes environments.

As the week unfolds, fans will be watching not only for the result but for the broader implications of a Paul victory. A win could reshape perceptions about the viability of non-traditional crossovers in major boxing markets, while a Joshua win would reinforce the traditional pathway for established champions against rising internet-driven stars. The event’s trajectory remains closely tied to the Netflix platform positioning, the intensity of the hype around both fighters, and the ever-present betting markets that have amplified the drama in recent combat sports. In any outcome, the affair underscores how celebrity-backed bets and media-driven events are increasingly intersecting with the sport’s internal narratives, echoing a broader shift in sports entertainment.