On November 12, news broke that Jake Paul was finalizing a deal to fight British heavyweight superstar Anthony Joshua, potentially as soon as this December, due to Paul’s scheduled November 14 bout against Gervonta “Tank” Davis getting scrapped.
This turned the boxing community on its head, as few predicted that Jake Paul would be willing to take on such a massive (literally) challenge by fighting the much-bigger Joshua, especially on short notice. And while some would argue that Joshua doesn’t stand to gain anything from facing Paul, the reported $92 million purse he would earn for the bout suggests otherwise.
Despite that insane amount of money, there’s no question that Paul isn’t the guy that fans want to see Joshua fight at this point in his career. Rather, they’ve been clamoring for Joshua to fight fellow British heavyweight icon Tyson Fury, as these two have been circling each other for years.
READ: Anthony Joshua vs Jake Paul in doubt as ‘Problem Child’ issues major update
And given that neither is in a good position to fight undisputed heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk, it would appear that this is the perfect time for Fury vs. Joshua to take place.
Turki Alalshikh Teases Tyson Fury vs. Anthony Joshua Fight in 2026
If there’s one man who can finally get Fury and Joshua in the ring together, it’s Turki Alalshikh. And Alalshikh seems keen to make this fight happen, which was revealed during comments he made on DAZN’s broadcast before the Conor Benn vs. Chris Eubank Jr. fight on November 15.”I am talking now with Eddie, we have next year, two big events here in London. It will be a surprise. We will have [Anthony] Joshua in our country in February, then there is the big fight, one of the greatest fights in the history of boxing, it will be in London here maybe in September,” Alalshikh said, per an X post from Ring Magazine.
When asked whether this could, “finally” be Joshua vs. Fury, Allashikh added, “I will not give you the answer. But we will have in April here, maybe in Tottenham, big fights. Then in September, we will have me and [Eddie Hearn], a big surprise for the fans in England.”
Eddie Hearn (who promoted Joshua with Matchroom) was also on the broadcast. When he was asked whether fans will see Fury vs. Joshua next year after Alalshikh’s comments, he said, “Listen, we have all got excited about that fight for many years. I believe [Turki] is the man to make it happen. Everything we do with Anthony Joshua, we do with Turki Alalshikh. We have been sitting down this week. We have a lot of plans for Anthony Joshua’s future. He wants to regain the world heavyweight championship; he wants to, of course, fight Tyson Fury.
“Let [Alalshikh] do his work, I will keep quiet, because I have got a big mouth, and hopefully we can see the fight that everybody in here wants to see,” Hearn added.
These comments provide a very optimistic outlook for Fury vs. Joshua. However, it Joshua were to fight (and somehow lose) to Paul, this iconic bout could be off the table.
