To the surreal question of why Anthony Joshua would hitch his name to the YouTuber Jake Paul, Daily Mail Sport can reveal he has 70 million reasons to participate in a fight that will make the traditionalists wince.
While negotiations remain ongoing for a bout in Miami next month, sources tell us that a gargantuan prize pot of around £140m has been mooted by its proponents, with a plan for an even split between the two-time heavyweight world champion and a man who holds no discernible qualifications to be his opponent.
That Paul has demonstrated immense pulling power, both as a prankster in the early stages of his online career and more recently through his strange array of contests in a boxing ring, is evidently the only justification necessary.
Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn stressed to Daily Mail Sport on Thursday that any deal is not yet finalised over what would be the 36-year-old’s first fight since he was crushed by Daniel Dubois 14 months ago. However, there is an expectation among those connected to the talks that it could be confirmed early next week and, significantly, it would not be billed as an ‘exhibition’.
We understand that a key element behind the fight, and indeed one of the challenges of the negotiations, is the desire to broadcast it on Netflix. The streaming giant is currently working with Joshua on a documentary, which dovetails with Paul’s own interests – his fight against a 58-year-old Mike Tyson in November 2024 was staged on the platform and drew an audience in excess of 60million.
Paul, 28, was also due to fight lightweight world champion Gervonta Davis on Netflix on November 14, before its cancellation last week after an ex-girlfriend of Davis filed a lawsuit accusing him of battery, false imprisonment, kidnapping and intentional infliction of emotional distress. He has denied the claims.
Poll
Should Anthony Joshua fight Jake Paul?
- Yes, why not 0 votes
- No way, it’s just for money 0 votes
Now share your opinion
The collapse of that fight has opened the door to hasty discussions between the camps of Paul and Joshua after more than a year of rumours around the possibility.
If talks prove successful, we understand the fight will form a key part of the Joshua documentary, which, alongside the huge purse, partially explains his desire to entertain such a strange match-up. All of that is contingent on another factor – Joshua has an exclusive broadcast deal with streaming platform DAZN, so they will need to be persuaded to give their blessing.
‘It is not done yet,’ Hearn told Daily Mail Sport. ‘There has been a lot of gun jumping on this. I think Jake Paul would be mad to take the fight but we are in talks. We were discussing a very low-key fight for AJ but an opportunity has come up to make 50 times more money. People who criticise it have to be honest: what would you do in AJ’s shoes?’
Joshua, who has been licking his wounds since that bruising loss to Dubois, is fully aware that a fight with Paul will be every bit as controversial as it is lucrative.
Paul’s 12-1 record across the past five years has been built against nobodies and elderly stars, with his sole loss coming against Tommy Fury, younger brother of Tyson Fury and better known for his stint on Love Island.
Cleary, the American is not a serious match for an opponent who remains one of the 10 best heavyweights in the world, especially when his training was geared towards taking on Davis, a star of the sport who typically campaigns at 65 pounds lighter than Paul.
For Joshua, the initial plan was a ring return stripped of all bells and whistles. ‘We were literally looking at doing an eight-rounder on an undercard somewhere,’ Hearn told us. ‘It would have been a case of arriving fight week, taking on a name you have never heard of, and then putting all eyes on a big 2026 and finally getting the fight with Tyson Fury.
‘After the Paul-Davis fight fell through, we had a call and we are talking. We will see if Paul’s interest is real. Would it be great for Joshua’s legacy? No. But I’ll tell you what is – two-time heavyweight world champion and an Olympic gold medal. This is an opportunity and fair play to Paul if he wants to get in that ring because AJ won’t be messing about.’
Time will tell on that latter claim – this genre of contest has rarely, if ever, seen a full-blooded approach from the established party.
But Hearn has insisted it would be a sanctioned, professional fight following Queensbury rules and not an exhibition.
Joshua’s imperative, beyond expanding his existing fortune, is shedding the rust of inactivity. Having returned to light training in the early part of the year, he underwent surgery on a minor elbow injury in May and resumed intense workouts in October.
‘I don’t think people realise how much the Dubois loss hurt him,’ Hearn said. ‘The pain of defeat and the recovery from injury needed some time. But I know for a fact that he has got his fighting mentality back and all eyes are on 2026.’
Frank Warren, who promotes Tyson Fury, told Daily Mail Sport: ‘People are going to criticise it but I don’t see it that way. I don’t like these fights where an old fighter in his late-fifties is dragged into the ring, but as long as these guys are both fit, which they are, then I don’t have a problem.
‘People always say Jake Paul only takes on opponents who don’t have a pulse, so you can’t knock him for this, if it goes ahead. It will get a huge audience – AJ doesn’t cause a lot of noise in the US and Paul does. People like car crashes. It will do well.’
