Matchroom Boxing say they are in talks with Jake Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions (MVP) over a possible fight between the social media influencer and Anthony Joshua.
Paul, 28, had been scheduled to fight lightweight world champion Gervonta Davis in an exhibition match on November 14 but that was cancelled after a domestic violence lawsuit was filed against Davis by his former girlfriend.
Joshua, 36, is a former WBO, WBA and IBF heavyweight world champion, having won the Olympic gold medal at the London 2012 Games.
But he has not entered the ring since he was stopped in the fifth round by fellow British heavyweight Daniel Dubois in September 2024, the fourth defeat of his professional career.
Joshua is planning to face Tyson Fury in another all-British contest next year but could first face Paul in what is likely to be a highly lucrative bout.
Details of any potential fight are yet to be confirmed but Matchroom expect the fight, if confirmed, to take place in Miami and be screened on streaming service Netflix.
The Athletic has contacted MVP for comment.
Eddie Hearn, Joshua’s promoter at Matchroom, told the BBC: “Our focus is on 2026. We have a big fight planned for February and a big fight hopefully against Tyson Fury next year.
“We may run out in 2025. We were just going to have a low key fight somewhere — if that is going to destroy the run of Mr Paul and make tens of millions of dollars in the process, then maybe. Nothing is confirmed yet.”
Paul has fought 13 times in his professional boxing career, winning 12 times, but has never fought an active heavyweight, meaning any possible meeting with Joshua is likely to spark safety concerns.
Paul’s only heavyweight bout was an exhibition against 58-year-old Mike Tyson last November which he won on points.
The fight became the most streamed sporting event ever staged at the time, drawing over 108million viewers.
Analysis
This bout has the potential to damage boxing.
Jake Paul has fought 13 times since turning professional as a boxer in 2020 but only five of his opponents were boxers and one of those was a 58-year-old Mike Tyson – a bout that was fought over eight two-minute rounds and featured heavier gloves with extra padding.
Joshua is an Olympic heavyweight champion who has fought 32 times as a professional against some of the best heavyweights of his generation.
Mismatches are not uncommon in boxing, but this would be one of the biggest the sport has seen, pitting a relative novice against a seasoned professional.
Paul weighed in for the Tyson fight – his only fight at heavyweight – at a career-biggest 227.2lb (103kg), while Joshua weighed in for his most recent fight against Daniel Dubois at 252.5lb (115kg). And in terms of height there is around 5 inches between them with Joshua measuring 6ft6ins and Paul 6ft1ins. So the size difference is not all that huge. Certainly not in comparison to the difference in experience, ability and skill.
Paul’s last fight was against Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. in June, which he won by unanimous decision (Harry How/Getty Images)
If the fight goes ahead, there is a question around whether it will do so as a sanctioned boxing event or as an exhibition. The latter seems most likely but when you consider that the Texas boxing commission sanctioned Paul’s fight against Tyson, nothing is impossible.
Given Paul’s previously scheduled fight was against Gervonta Davis, who typically fights at 135 lbs and measures 5ft5ins, taking on Joshua as a replacement seems ludicrous. Against Davis, Paul’s size could potentially have closed some of the talent gap. Against Joshua, there is nothing to suggest that Paul can survive any real amount of time in the ring with a true, established, current heavyweight.
Boxing is a dangerous pursuit. The only reason it exists as a sport in 2025 is because there are measures in place to make it as safe as possible, while accepting that it will never be totally devoid of danger. Some of those measures will have to be completely ignored to allow Paul to take on Joshua inside the ring, and that leaves boxing in a very precarious position if anything was to go wrong.
