Is Jake Paul really fighting Anthony Joshua in December? Numerous outlets reported the fight is a done deal, but that’s not the case according to Anthony Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn.
“We have spoken but nothing close and I doubt Jake would be so crazy,” Hearn told Ariel Helwani on Wednesday afternoon (Nov. 12, 2025). “Absolutely [premature].”
The Matchroom boxing head then spoke to BBC Radio the next day, giving his fighter AJ’s position on the potential big money match-up.
“Possibly,” he said of the fight coming together. “Everybody jumped the gun last night. There have been some conversations. Our focus is on 2026, we have a big fight planned in February and a big fight hopefully against Tyson Fury in the summer.”
“We may [fight] in 2025, we were just gonna go and have a low-key fight somewhere. If that’s to go and destroy the run of Mr. Paul and make tens of millions of dollars in the process? Maybe. Nothing’s confirmed yet.”
There would be a lot of details to iron out. Florida agreed to sanction Jake Paul vs. Gervonta Davis, but only as an exhibition bout. We’d imagine they’d do the same with a potential Paul vs. Joshua fight, but there’s a good chance the commission would nerf the fight with glove size and stipulations against knockouts.
Joshua showed in his fight against Francis Ngannou that he’s not above a freakshow fight, but we doubt he’ll sign on to trade pillow punches with Paul and damage his credibility with a decision. He’s got too much on the line for his actual legacy next year. Hearn seemed to echo that sentiment with BBC Sports.
“The focus for us really is 2026 and that is a big fight in February or March and then Tyson Fury,” Hearn said. “We want the real stuff … but we want the business as well. If [Joshua] receives several tens of millions and we get a chance to silence this guy that’s annoyed the boxing community for a long time, then maybe. Maybe.”