Jake Paul has an ‘agreement in principle’ with Anthony Joshua for a fight next year, once they have both made it through their next fights.
The YouTuber-turned-boxer is going to face Gervonta Davis in a Netflix exhibition super-fight on November 14. Meanwhile, after his knockout defeat to Daniel Dubois last year former heavyweight champion Joshua has taken a year out, and plans to return early in 2026.
For a few weeks prior to the Davis fight being announced, Paul had been toying with the idea of facing Joshua. And his Most Valuable Promotions co-founder Nakisa Bidarian told media at Monday’s launch press conference that the fight is very much on.
Jake Paul vs Anthony Joshua is very much on according to Most Valuable Promotions boss
Throughout his entire run of interviews surrounding a potential fight with Anthony Joshua, it was always clear that Jake Paul wanted to wait until 2026 for the pair to meet.
He will have to hit a low of 195lb that he hasn’t touched since the summer of 2023 to face Davis in November. After that, he has ambitions of competing for cruiserweight gold, as well as moving back to heavyweight to take on the two-time world champion.
And speaking with the media on Monday night in New York City, his Most Valuable Promotions co-founder Bidarian confirmed that those plans are still in place. Asked if there were still negotiations, he clarified that the reporter meant with Matchroom Boxing.
He then confirmed that “we have an agreement in principle”. This was later followed up on by Seconds Out host Radio Rahim, at which point Bidarian pivoted to a more middle-ground answer that “We have an understanding,” after which he declared it was simply “To fight each other.”