Just a couple of days after we heard Anthony Joshua vs Jake Paul was in the works for next month, the whole thing is now in doubt.
The boxing world went into meltdown on Wednesday with the news that Joshua and Paul were in talks over a fight in Miami in December, to be streamed live globally on Netflix.
Predictably, the news met with excitement from casuals and groans from hardcore fight fans tired of seeing these ‘crossover events’. This would of course pit a two-time world heavyweight champion against a Youtuber with just 13 fights on his resume.
The aftermath of that first report (from Mike Coppinger of Ring magazine) was followed by promoter Eddie Hearn claiming it was ‘premature’. Hearn said while the two sides have talked, they were not close to a deal.
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Now we have another major update, and it suggests the bout may not be happening before the end of this year. Remember Jake had been scheduled to meet lightweight (yes, lightweight) Gervonta Davis in Atlanta this very weekend, so he needs a replacement opponent.
Jake Paul on Joshua fight
It was the 28-year-old ‘Problem Child’ who provided the update this morning, as he posted a frustrated message on social media.
It read quite simply “not holding my breath for 2025. Too many yes men.”
Now you can make of that what you will, but it definitely sounds like there are potential blockers to Jake meeting AJ inside a boxing ring next month. Time is very short to get a show of that magnitude in place.
TV details a blocker?
Of course we do not know at this stage what those blockers could be, but the actual TV details for the fight could potentially be one. Remember that Joshua is exclusively signed to DAZN, so wouldn’t he need their blessing to fight on Netflix?
AJ has not fought since September 2024, when his bid to become a three-time world heavyweight champion ended in a fifth-round knockout defeat by Daniel Dubois at London’s Wembley Stadium.
