Anthony Joshua and Jake Paul are finalizing negotiations for a heavyweight boxing fight in Miami later this year.
The blockbuster showdown will take place in December and is set to be broadcast on Netflix, much like how Paul’s scrapped bout with Gervonta Davis had been planned.
Paul had been scheduled to face American rival Davis this Saturday night, but the bout was cancelled due to allegations of domestic violence that the latter faces.
Now, Paul has turned his attention to British star Joshua and negotiations are entering the final stages. Daily Mail Sport understands that the 9th and 12th of December have been mooted as potential fight dates.
The news comes just days after Joshua’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, hinted at a potential bout against Paul and spoke of the British star’s need for a ‘run-out’ fight.
Hearn said on Tuesday: ‘We will make a decision this week on Anthony’s next fight. If he fights this year, you probably won’t even hear about it, unless it’s Jake Paul.
Anthony Joshua and Jake Paul are finalizing negotiations for a heavyweight boxing fight
Paul will make his first return to the ring since defeating Julio Chavez Jr back in June
Meanwhile, Anthony Joshua will fight for the first time since his defeat to Daniel Dubois
‘We would literally rock up on fight week. We’ve already got opponents that we’ve been talking to about a run-out fight,’ the Mathroom Boxing chief said.
Hearn’s comments have led fans to believe that any bout between the two would in-fact be deemed an exhibition – similarly to how Paul’s bout with Davis was planned.
Further details are yet to be announced but fans will certainly be intrigued to discover the weight restrictions that will be in place, given the size difference between the two.
In Paul’s most recent bout against Julio Chavez Jr, he weighed in at 199.4lbs. Meanwhile, in Joshua’s last fight against Daniel Dubois, he weighed in at 252lbs 5oz.
However, in Paul’s fight against Mike Tyson last year, he managed to bulk up an immense amount and weighed in at 220lbs, which he will likely have to do again.
Though the bout will bring initial shock to boxing fans, some sense can be made in the fact that both fighters have found themselves at a crossroads in 2025.
After defeating boxing legend Tyson, 59, in November last year, Paul returned to the ring in the summer, where he defeated Chavez Jr via unanimous decision.
However, since that victory, the YouTuber-turned-boxer has been on the search for a more credible opponent and had WBA lightweight champion Davis in his sights.
Former heavyweight champion Joshua will undoubtably be Paul’s toughest opponent to date
Joshua’s promoter, Eddie Hearn (left), recently claimed the British star needs a ‘run-out fight’
After months of preparations and smack-talking between the two Americans, the bout was cancelled last week due to the domestic violence allegations looming over Davis.
Breaking his silence over the matter last week, Paul said: ‘If you support this man you support the most vile sin a man can commit. My company champions women.
‘I’m so sorry to everyone involved. Mostly to the undercard fighters, to my team at MVP and to my team who worked so hard prepping for this fight.
‘Sacrificing time with loved ones and kids just for this fool to lose his unintelligent mind again,’ the influencer-turned-boxer said.
In the days that have followed, Paul went on a social media tirade, calling out some of boxing’s biggest names – including one of Joshua’s old foes; Francis Ngannou.
Paul and former UFC star Ngannou traded words over social media before conducting an interview with TMZ that entirely shut down talks of a fight.
Joshua, meanwhile, will be looking to shake off 13 months of ring-rust when he takes on Paul, having not fought since his defeat to British rival Daniel Dubois last year.
The Watford fighter was brutally knocked in the fifth round of their bout, which derailed hopes of him mounting a charge for the heavyweight titles.
Despite a four-fight win-streak prior to that, his back-to-back defeats by Oleksandr Usyk in 2021 and 2022 left Joshua in a predicament going forward.
Paul made headlines last year when he fought boxing legend Mike Tyson in Texas
The YouTuber-turned-boxer has often been discredited over his opponents’ credentials
Just recently, former star Carl Froch spoke with Daily Mail’s Charlotte Daly about the ‘downfall’ of Joshua and attempted to pinpoint where it all began.
‘People may think this is a controversial take but I think AJ’s downfall started when he split up from Rob McCracken,’ Froch said when we sat down for an hour-long chat on ClubHouse Boxing’s new show.
‘Rob guided him from amateur nobody to Olympic champion and then to world honours. But AJ didn’t listen. He left him.
‘That was the worst decision he could have made. Now he’s mentally distraught, physically getting old, completely lost. I honestly don’t think there is a way back. I think he’s done and he knows it.’
‘AJ could have fallen out of love with boxing, it’s possible,’ Froch says. ‘He didn’t want to do the running, he didn’t want to spar, he didn’t want to train (towards the end of his stint with McCracken). You hear all of this stuff coming out from the gym rats and through the grapevine and you just know it’s the beginning of the end.’
