Anthony Joshua and Jake Paul are in talks to sign a heavyweight bout in Miami in December, Sky Sports News understands.
Britain’s two-time world heavyweight champion has been away from the ring since losing to Daniel Dubois in September 2024, but is now set to return in a bout against YouTuber turned professional fighter Paul.
Paul was preparing to face Gervonta Davis, but the exhibition was canceled after a civil lawsuit was filed against the American world champion, and Joshua is now in negotiations for a sensational showdown.
It’s an unexpected matchup. Paul, who lost a decision to Tommy Fury in 2023, is inexperienced as a professional boxer and has only fought once at heavyweight — last year, when he fought 58-year-old Mike Tyson for eight rounds using larger-than-normal 14-ounce gloves.
Anthony Joshua is a former two-time unified heavyweight champion.
In contrast, Joshua became the 2012 Olympic super heavyweight gold medalist. He is a two-time unified world heavyweight champion and defeated former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou in just two rounds in a “crossover” bout.
But Paul insisted he was prepared to take the risk. He previously told Sky Sports: “Taking big risks and big challenges and going into fights that no one thinks I have even the slightest chance of winning, that excites me.”
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Derek Chisora shares his predictions for a potential fight between Anthony Joshua and Jake Paul
Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn said on Tuesday that Joshua could be in a tune-up fight as early as December. Hearn told Sky Sports: “We’ll make a decision this week whether he’s going to fight this year or not. Basically we have to make a decision by the end of this week.” “It doesn’t really matter where it is.
“I want him to go in there and beat the crap out of somebody.”
Hearn: Chance to ‘erase’ Jake Paul from boxing world
Paul is best known for his YouTube career, but he has won 12 fights since turning pro in 2020.
“AJ vs. Paul is definitely not the match we expected and definitely not the match we aimed for,” Hearn said.
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Jake Paul has revealed that a fight with former two-time heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua could happen in the future.
“But if you want Jake Paul to be a frontrunner (for Tyson Fury), and obviously financially it’s a great opportunity for AJ and you want to offer AJ the opportunity to erase Jake Paul from the boxing world, then maybe AJ will go for it.
“Jake is a big, strong cruiserweight. I don’t think he’s particularly competitive, but I know in the world we live in that a lot of people are going to watch the fight.
“Oddly enough, this might be the biggest fight that could happen in this sport. I’m not going to sit here and say, ‘Yeah, that’s a great challenge.’
“I think he’s going to get knocked down quickly and there’s going to be a huge number of people around the world who want to see that.
“Whether or not Jake Paul is crazy enough to get in the ring with Anthony Joshua, and he might, is anyone’s guess because of the amount of money at stake. We might see AJ and Jake Paul fight next.”
