Anthony Joshua is eager to fight Jake Paul, according to Eddie Hearn, with the two already in direct contact to make it happen.
Paul last fought in October when he beat another former heavyweight champion – albeit one 31 years older than him in Mike Tyson –and is now desperate to secure a bout with another of the sport’s biggest names.
In Thursday, ‘The Problem Child’ directly called out Joshua, insisting the two-time world champion ‘doesn’t have a chin and has no skill’.
In response, Joshua fuelled the fire, posting a screenshot of a video call with the American, tagging him with the caption ‘2026’.
Joshua’s promoter Hearn has now revealed the fight is a very realistic prospect.
‘For me, we’d do it for the banter,’ Hearn told DAZN.
‘AJ would fight Jake Paul. He would fight anyone to be honest with you. And if Jake Paul wants to step up and fight Anthony Joshua, he will need the relevant insurance.
‘But the only thing that was disappointing is that he said 2026. Do it in 2025 if you really want to do it.
‘But those two have spoken, I spoke to AJ this morning and he went, “of course, I’ll fight him”.
‘Jake creates massive events, unbelievable viewership and no disrespect to Jake Paul but it’s a straight forward night’s work.
‘I like this calling out of Canelo [Alvarez] and others. AJ is another chance. But if they are game, why not?’
Asked again what Joshua said in response to the challenge, Hearn continued: “He said, “why not? Tell everyone I’ll fight anyone. It is not a problem for me.’
Paul has won 11 of his 12 professional bouts to date, beaten by another relative novice in Tommy Fury in 2023.
Joshua meanwhile has not fought since his devastating knockout defeat to Daniel Dubois six months ago, still recovering from an unspecified injury that could delay his return to the ring until September.
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Fighting Paul would represent a major swerve for Joshua who has been determined to become a three-time heavyweight champion or finally meet Tyson Fury in the ring.
‘Before he retires he wants to become the heavyweight world champion again, and become a three-time champion, so he is going to want to go after whoever has the belt,’ Hearn told Metro last month.
‘I get that everyone wants to know about AJ’s next moves, but we haven’t had that conversation yet.
‘There will be plenty of time for these types of conversations. There is no secret that he wanted the Tyson Fury fight – but now he is retired then he has to go for the world championship.’
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