Jake Paul has announced when he expects to take on two-time former unified world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua.
American former YouTuber turned boxer Paul has now had 13 contests and won 12 of them, with just one loss coming against Tommy Fury, though he did have his man down on the canvas late on. That eventual loss was on points back in 2023, and since then, he has had three KO wins and three points victories.
Most of them have come over ageing fighters and former MMA stars like Nate Diaz and Tyron Woodley, and he also beat a 58-year-old Mike Tyson over 10 rounds back in November last year.
This past weekend, he stepped into the ring against former middleweight champion and son of a Mexican boxing legend, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr, and got a unanimous points win over 10 rounds.
Speaking at the press conference after his win over Chavez Jr, Paul was asked about who he wants next and made it clear that ‘AJ’ is in his plans.
“Yeah, I mean, Anthony Joshua… I’m not a heavyweight but I’m still going to take the challenge. You look at Deontay Wilder, he was beating these guys weighing 215lbs, so anything is possible. I like a challenge. We’ve been messaging back and forth, he wants to make it happen, he called me up and it’s looking very likely for next year.”
His team then elaborated on when that fight will happen, saying the end of 2026 will give Paul enough time to prepare for the challenge.
“When Jake came out with the call out Eddie [Hearn] said ‘if you’re serious we can do it at the end of 2025’, no, Jake’s going to do it on a timeline where he feels prepared to have a good chance against Anthony Joshua and he believes that is the end of 2026.
That’s the main one that we’ve talked about a lot about. If it’s not for a title, it’s looking at Tommy [Fury] if he’s reasonable, then it’s looking at Joshua. He’s adamant he wants to make that fight happen at the end of 2026 and we’re going to meet with Matchroom [about it]. “
British star Joshua is considerably larger and more experienced than Paul, though he has not fought since last September when he was stopped inside five rounds by Daniel Dubois.
Another fighter that Paul has been linked with in recent times is Canelo, and Chavez has predicted what would happen if his two former foes were to meet.
