The rumour mill went into overdrive on Wednesday night with talk of Anthony Joshua possibly fighting Jake Paul next month.
Paul was due to face Gervonta Davis this Friday, 14 November, in Miami but the bout was cancelled when the latter’s ex-girlfriend filed a lawsuit against him for domestic abuse.
Joshua (28-4, 25 KOs) hasn’t fought since being knocked out by Daniel Dubois at Wembley Stadium in September 2024 and he was expected to have a tune-up fight before the end of this year.
Paul could be the ideal candidate and while Joshua’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, insists a deal has yet to be finalised, he admits it is a very attractive option.
Speaking on talkSPORT, Hearn said: “The gun was jumped a little bit and fired early. There have been conversations.
“We’re considering it and, at the moment, there is work to be done. But, could it happen? Yes, it could.
“Should Jake Paul be fighting Anthony Joshua? No.
“Is he [Paul] mad to do it? Yes.
“Is there tens and tens and tens and tens of millions of dollars for Anthony Joshua to have an 8-round run out against Jake Paul? Yes.”
Hearn said the original plan was for Joshua to have a low-key outing in the next month or so, but he would like to see his man ‘stick one on’ Paul.
He added: “We were going to fight at the end of November or in December, in an 8-round fight against a bloke you have never heard of.
“And he would have made, let’s say, a million bucks. Or, we can go out and fight Mr. Paul for fifty times as much money.
“And, by the way, in the process, we can stick one on this geezer [Paul] – who I don’t particularly like anyway – in front of the whole world.”
Hearn went on to tease fans with some huge plans for next year and he stated that a long-awaited all-British blockbuster with Tyson Fury is in the works for 2026.
He continued: “And then we can go onto the real stuff in 2026 which is really important to us, and that’s fighting in February and then fighting Tyson Fury, or trying to get a shot at the world heavyweight championship.
“Next year, we will fight in February and then we will fight Tyson Fury, if Turki Al-Sheikh delivers on his plans and strategies.
“It’s Turki Al-Sheikh’s responsibility to talk to Tyson and try to make the deal. I can’t tell you we are fighting Tyson Fury. What I can tell you is - Turki Al-Sheikh has told us ‘I am going to make ‘AJ’ versus Tyson Fury’.
“All I know is that he [Turki Al-Sheikh] is yet to fail in delivering a fight. If 'AJ' doesn’t fight Tyson Fury - Turki Al-Sheikh has failed to make the fight. It will be on him, and I don’t believe he will fail.
“I believe you will see 'AJ' versus Tyson Fury in 2026, and it will be the biggest fight you have ever seen in British boxing.”
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