Jake Paul Is The Front-Runner To Fight Former Heavyweight Champ Next
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – JULY 11: Jake Paul attends Netflix Live Event: Katie Taylor vs Amanda Serrano at Madison Square Garden on July 11, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Cindy Ord/Getty Images)
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Believe it or not, Jake Paul sits atop a shortlist of potential opponents to fight Anthony Joshua next.
Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn appeared on Sky Sports recently, and he called Paul the “frontrunner” for the fight with Joshua and admitted it was “bizarre” for Paul and his team to believe they have a chance to defeat the former heavyweight champion.
Hearn says, “I truly believe we’re going to see this in the beginning of 2026.”
Joshua is coming off a crushing KO loss to former champion Daniel Dubois. Joshua has taken his time to get himself right physically and mentally. He figures to be a huge favorite over Paul, but there is no denying the intrigue.
If it comes to fruition, Joshua will be by far the stiffest competition Paul has faced in his still-young boxing career. Paul has done enough to create at least a glimmer of questions about the potential result.
But it’s only a glimmer.
As usual, the comment section is entertaining.
“AJ is an absolute embarrassment if he goes through with this fight against Jake Paul,” one commenter wrote. “Absolute sellout. He should never fight an actual heavyweight again after that.”
A second said, “Would be hilarious if JP throws a wild punch and catches AJ’s jaw.”
A third said, “AJ starches him in 1 round. Legitimately.”
Hearn is also eyeing a potential fight for Joshua with Tyson Fury, who recently seems to be coming out of retirement. Joshua’s situation is a strange one. His direct path back to a world title shot is not abundantly clear. He’s fought and lost to current undisputed heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk twice, although the second meeting was very close.
Joshua was also stopped by Dubois, the man Usyk just knocked out for the second time. It would appear Joseph Parker has the best shot at challenging for the world title, and the hard-charging young heavyweight star Moses Itauma could be the last real challenge for Usyk before he hangs up the gloves.
What does that mean for Joshua? It could mean participating in the highest-paying bouts while you’re still active. He turns 36 in October, which isn’t ancient for a heavyweight, but at this point, he has a lot of mileage on his tires.
If Joshua were going to have three more fights in his career, a meeting with Paul, Fury, and potentially Deontay Wilder, who is also on the comeback trail, would check every remaining box he’s had throughout his career and send him away an even richer man.
I’d expect an announcement on Joshua-Paul to drop sometime over the next few months, and as Hearn mentioned, it’s going to break the internet when it’s announced and when it happens.