Anthony Joshua v Jake Paul a possibility, says British boxer’s promoter Eddie Hearn
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The bout between Anthony Joshua (left) and Jake Paul could take place in early 2026.
PHOTOS: REUTERS
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LONDON – American YouTuber-turned-professional boxer Jake Paul is the front runner to fight former two-time heavyweight world champion Anthony Joshua next, says the Briton’s long-time promoter Eddie Hearn.
The bout, which could take place in early 2026, would potentially be a career-high payday for Joshua, added Hearn.
The 35-year-old has not fought since losing to Daniel Dubois
Paul, 28, has beaten veterans Mike Tyson
Hearn, who was in New York for talks with Paul’s business partner Nakisa Bidarian, told BBC Sport on Aug 10: “At first I thought it was a publicity stunt from Jake and now the more I speak to them, the more I actually understand – Jake Paul thinks he can beat Anthony Joshua.
“This is a step too far. So be careful what you wish for, because this isn’t a game.
“This isn’t YouTube. This isn’t Disney. This is the danger zone.”
Both Hearn and Bidarian said the fight would probably take place at a stadium in the United States.
The Paul-Tyson bout in November 2024, which drew 72,000 spectators to the AT&T Stadium in Texas, also attracted an audience of some 60 million households worldwide as it was streamed live on Netflix.
But Hearn believes that the potential bout between Paul and Joshua would break all kinds of records commercially, adding: “This is going to do the biggest numbers probably than we’ve ever seen in the sport.”
While Joshua’s match takings have never been made public, his rematch with Ukrainian Oleksandr Usyk in 2022 earned him reportedly as much as £40 million (S$69.2 million), said the BBC.
Hearn added: “(Usually) the more dangerous the fight, the bigger you expect the purse to be, or to reflect that.
“This is actually the opposite. It might be AJ’s easiest ever fight and potentially his biggest payday.”
Both Hearn and Bidarian said that unlike Paul’s bout with the then 58-year-old Tyson, conditions are not part of this fight.
That contest consisted of eight two-minute rounds, instead of the regulation three-minute rounds, and each fighter used 14-ounce (400g) gloves instead of the standard 10 ounces to limit punching power.
But Bidarian, who co-founded boxing promotion firm Most Valuable Promotions along with Paul, said safety is not on his mind.
“This would be pursued as a straight-up professional fight,” he said.
“I think there’s certainly an experience gap between the two of them, in terms of where they’re at in their career.
“From my prospective, Joshua’s an active heavyweight. The likelihood of Anthony Joshua being able to land a heavyweight punch is much higher than what Mike Tyson had.
“I want to give Jake as much time as possible to improve on his boxing skill set to be able to effectively neutralise that main attribute of Anthony Joshua.
“My ask of him is to wait longer to do it. But when an opportunity is there, sometimes if you don’t take it, it never comes back.”
Hearn admitted that the fight would face criticism should it go ahead, especially after two boxers in Japan died from brain injuries they sustained in separate bouts at the same event on Aug 2.
In a separate interview with Sky Sports, he said: “I can’t sit here and tell you this is a 50-50 matchup. The whole thing is bizarre. I think it’s extremely dangerous for Jake Paul.”
He likened Paul fighting against Joshua to watching magician David Blaine in a box and wondering if he is going to get out in time.
“I’ve told Nakisa, this ain’t David Blaine,” added Hearn.
“This is going in with one of the fiercest punchers of our generation and, if you go in there thinking you’re going to win, that’s even more dangerous.”
Paul, who has fought many former mixed martial arts fighters in boxing, has competed at cruiserweight and his single loss was to Tommy Fury in 2023.
While the American has said his ultimate goal is to be a world champion, not many think that is possible.
