Anthony Joshua has not fought for a year, but is edging closer to returning against an unlikely opponent.
Joshua is a former two-time unified world champion who was dethroned by Oleksandr Usyk and has failed to win back the belts since their rematch in 2022.
In his attempts, he has beaten the likes of Otto Wallin, Robert Helenius and Jermaine Franklin, but last time out was stopped inside five rounds by then IBF ruler Daniel Dubois. Since that fight at Wembley, he has been out recovering from an elbow injury while the boxing world hoped that he would now fight Tyson Fury in a legacy-defining contest. With ‘The Gypsy King’ adamant he is in retirement, ‘AJ’ has been forced to look elsewhere.
Speaking to The Stomping Ground, ‘AJ’s promoter Eddie Hearn provided an update and suggested his next fight is getting closer and could be against Jake Paul.
“I would say advanced is probably the word that you clickbaiters would use. I never really expected this fight to happen but the more conversations I have, honestly, the more I think there’s a very good chance it could happen. I’m here in New York, there’s a lot of meetings to be had.
“Don’t ask me why but Jake Paul believes he can win the fight, and that’s even more dangerous to be honest. You can go in and think well if I start getting hurt but no, he’s convinced he beats Anthony Joshua. Be careful what you wish for cause this is not what you’re used to, but respect for taking the challenge and we’ll see if it comes off.”
“For boxing, AJ-Fury is the one, but I do understand commercially that [Joshua-Paul] is probably the biggest fight in boxing. And I’m not gonna tell you it’s fight of the year contender, I’m not gonna tell you it’s competitive. I think it’s a mismatch and I think it will mean that Jake Paul will leave the sport forever.”
Many in the sport have worried this is not just an unnecessary match up but also a dangerous one given the size difference and brute force that Joshua can call up on when throwing his shots, as well as the fact that Paul is still relatively inexperienced and has had just 12 fights against ageing fighters and former MMA stars.
MMA fighter Francis Ngannou is often cited as an example. He was an inexperienced boxer who was badly knocked out with one clean right hand in the second round of his fight with Joshua back in 2023, and there are fears the same fate would befall Paul. Although not Fury, who thinks Paul has what it takes to get the win.
