Paul and Joshua appear set to collide before the year is out (Picture: Getty)
Anthony Joshua and Jake Paul are close to agreeing a deal to meet in a heavyweight showdown live on Netflix in December.
Paul was scheduled to fight lightweight world champion Gervonta Davis in Miami on 14 November.
That bout was cancelled after Davis was accused of kidnapping and battery in a civil lawsuit with Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions making the decision to scrap the show.
A search has been underway for a new opponent to fight Paul before the end of the year.
The Ring Magazine now reports a sensational bout with two-time heavyweight champion Joshua is close to being finalised.
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Paul has forced his way into mainstream boxing over the last five years, amassing a record of 12-1 with victories over journeymen boxers, former MMA fighters and a fight legend 30 years older than him in Mike Tyson.
Paul’s proposed bout with Davis was widely ridiculed given the huge size difference between the pair – with Paul regularly fighting at 200lbs and standing at 6ft 1ins tall with Davis 5ft 5ins, competing in the 130lbs division.
Joshua wants to become a three-time champion…. but will fight Paul first (Picture: Getty)
Joshua would represent an entirely different prospect.
The 2012 Olympian has not fought since his devastating defeat to Daniel Dubois in September 2024, knocked out that night at Wembley.
But the former champion is still regarded as one of the most dangerous operators in heavyweight boxing and one of the game’s true box office names, eager to chase down a third world title in 2025.
Paul is 12-1 as a professional boxer (Picture: Getty Images)
‘AJ’ underwent elbow surgery over the summer and had been expected to return to the ring in 2025 with hopes of a long-awaited showdown with Tyson Fury still lingering.
His promoter Eddie Hearn however recently suggested the heavyweight could return before the year is out for a ‘run-out fight’ – with Paul a namely firmly in the frame.
Paul was scheduled to fight Davis this month (Picture: Getty)
‘We will make a decision this week on Anthony’s next fight. If he fights this year, you probably won’t even hear about it, unless it’s Jake Paul,’ Hearn said.
‘We would literally rock up on fight week. We’ve already got opponents that we’ve been talking to about a run-out fight’.
Paul was initially mocked for calling out the Briton. But rather than distance himself from the fight talk, Joshua fuelled it with it now on the brink of becoming a reality.
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