Anthony Joshua – Jake Paul
The upcoming Undisputed video game already has a robust roster of players, including superstars like Canelo Alvarez, brawlers like Eddie Hall, and even lesser known fighters like George Davey.
From the start, Steel City Interactive has promised fans that they will continue to add more players, and we suspect the next big name to join the Undisputed roster will be former heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua, following in the footsteps of Jake Paul.
Joshua is one of the biggest stars in boxing, so adding him to the boxing game’s roster of fighters would be coveted. He has also worked closely with Riyadh Season on his last few bouts. Steel City Interactive has also partnered with Riyadh Season, with the Riyadh Season logo prominently featured in the game’s release date announcement trailer, so it’s only natural that a connection would be made between the two.
Along with Joshua, it stands to reason that many of the heavyweights who came to prominence during the Riyadh season’s efforts to bring vitality back to boxing, particularly the heavyweight division, could be on the roster for the bout, including Jared Anderson, who is scheduled to face Martin Bacall on August 3 in Los Angeles.
Terence Crawford vs. Israil Madrimov will be the main event of the show, which will be the first Saudi Arabia-backed card in the United States. But the event will also feature another big showcase for the heavyweight division. In addition to Anderson vs. Bacall, former heavyweight champion Andy Ruiz will face Jarrell “Big Baby” Miller. All of these heavyweights could easily be added to the roster.
The addition is unlikely to happen all at once. It takes a lot of work to scan a fighter into the game. If Joshua is to be part of a future update for Undisputed, his rendering and addition will be a priority. Joshua is scheduled to challenge newly crowned IBF heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois for the title at Wembley Stadium in September.
There may be a move to have a rendering of Joshua ready in time for the fight, but it would be in step with the hype. Dubois has been a member of the roster ever since the game’s early access on PC. Joshua hasn’t been involved in a video game since being added to EA UFC 4 alongside Fury. Joshua’s connection to EA may have prevented him from becoming a member of Undisputed, but the limitations of his contract with EA are unknown.
Joshua is also a big soccer fan, so EA’s soccer title, EA FC (formerly known as FIFA), might have some appeal. Outside of the heavyweight division, it would be nice to see Undisputed add Gervonta Davis, Errol Spence, Sebastian Fandora, Jarron Ennis, William Cepeda and David Benavidez to their roster.
Paul’s arrival seems even more certain than Joshua’s.
There were talks with Paul in Puerto Rico back in March about him potentially being added to the Undisputed roster, but it seems like it’s now a matter of when, not if, he’ll play in a game.
While some purists may scoff at the addition, don’t be surprised if Paul becomes one of the most used characters in the game. Paul takes on Mike Perry in Tampa on Saturday night, but that may not be the matchup the Undisputed folks should be keeping an eye on when announcing Paul.
I expect this will happen if the fight between Paul and Mike Tyson goes ahead in November. By then, the game will have been out for a month, and the inclusion of both Paul and Tyson could garner a lot of attention for Undisputed.
We’ll have more information on Undisputed as it becomes available, and the game will be released on all platforms (PS5, PS4, Xbox family of consoles, and PC) on October 11th.
