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Jake Paul accepts ludicrous terms to fight Anthony Joshua during Turki Alalshikh meeting

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Jake Paul Anthony Joshua Turki Alalshikh

Jake Paul has proven he is serious about facing Anthony Joshua by accepting an incredibly low purse split for the crossover clash.

‘The Problem Child’ met with Saudi powerbroker Turki Alalshikh last week to discuss a possible fight with AJ.

Paul has set his sights on the former unified heavyweight champion after overcoming Julio Cesar Chavez Jr in his last outing.

Jake Paul accepts ludicrous terms to fight Anthony Joshua during Turki Alalshikh meeting | talkSPORT

READ: Jake Paul ‘doesn’t know the rules’ – Applies for ineligible title shot

The YouTuber-turned-boxer vowed to knock out Joshua during a lengthy rant on his podcast where he claimed the Watford powerhouse ‘doesn’t have a chin’.

This led to a phone call with the Olympic gold medallist, where both men verbally agreed to face each other in 2026.

Boxing mogul Alalshikh was then contacted to get involved with the fight.

And during a recent appearance on ‘Tha Boxing Voice’, he revealed that Paul had accepted his proposal for a 99-1 purse split in Joshua’s favour.

“I’m not against what Jake Paul’s doing in boxing, it’s good for boxing to have a young generation,” said Alalshikh.

“I’m against some kinds of fights he does. I’m now thinking him against Joshua. Joshua, if he destroys (Paul), it will be good for me.

“The headache of Jake Paul goes from my mind.

“If Jake Paul wins, I will know that Joshua is finished, and Jake Paul deserves his ranking and deserves to have a future in boxing.

“I don’t want 50-50. In this situation, I want 99-1.

Jake Paul has accepted. Now, next week I will talk with Joshua about it.”

If Paul signs for these terms, then Joshua will receive a 99 per cent lion’s share of the total prize pot.

Both men are commercial juggernauts in the boxing sphere, and the expectation is that they would demand a similar cut.

Paul pocketed $40million to fight Mike Tyson last November, but under Alalshikh’s terms, he wouldn’t come anywhere near that sum.

On the flip side, Joshua would bank one of the biggest purses in boxing history.

There will undoubtedly be serious money on the line for the fight, and with a 99 per cent share, Joshua could make eight figures.

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BOXING

Anthony Joshua Offered Fast Track Back To World Title Shot By Dangerous Interim Champion

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Anthony Joshua

Anthony Joshua will have been out of the ring for over 12 months by the time he returns.

The former two-time champion was last seen competing in September 2024 when he was stopped inside five rounds by young IBF champion Daniel Dubois.

That came after a period of rebuilding following two back-to-back losses in 2021 and 2022 to Oleksandr Usyk, which left Joshua without any of his three world title belts.

Activity is key – looking at a transformative 18 months for Anthony Joshua and Joseph Parker

JUST IN: Canelo coach fights back amid multiple doping cheat claims

Right now, he is out recovering from minor elbow surgery but will soon be back in the ring and looking for an appropriate opponent.

Speaking to JackPotCity, former WBO heavyweight champion and current interim champion Joseph Parker was asked about the fight he would like most, and he went with the man who beat him back in 2018.

“I would most like to avenge the AJ fight because back in 2018 I was a very different fighter to the fighter I am now, and AJ is a different fighter as well. He’s been the poster boy for boxing and he’s brought a lot of attention to boxing, and I’d like to avenge that loss. I would love the opportunity to fight Joshua. I think he’s had some surgery, and he’s looking to come back again, so if that opportunity arises, I’ll take it with both hands, and it’ll be a great fight. If he’s still motivated and passionate about boxing, he should keep going. If that’s what he wants to do. He’s still got a lot to give.”

A rematch between these two would be a good fight for both at this stage. Parker holds the interim WBO strap and is keen to push on for a world title and Joshua is in need of getting back to winning ways and proving he still has plenty left and big ambitions of his own.

Parker, as mandatory for the full belt, is first in the rotation of challengers to face the winner of Usyk and Dubois’ upcoming undisputed contest. If the Ukrainian wins, there is a chance he decides to vacate the belts, meaning Parker could soon be elevated or fighting for the belt. Joshua would do well to keep him in his sights.

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BOXING

Andy Ruiz Jr flaunts epic body transformation as Anthony Joshua conqueror teases comeback

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Andy Ruiz Jr Anthony Joshua

Andy Ruiz Jr has slimmed down significantly in preparation for a return to the ring.

The Mexican-American puncher hasn’t boxed since last August when he was held to a disputed majority draw by Jarrell Miller in Los Angeles.

However, he is now training and dieting again.

Ruiz's win over Joshua can be considered among the greatest upsets in boxing history

READ: FINALLY! Eddie Hearn reveals when Anthony Joshua will make long-awaited comeback

Taking to Instagram on Wednesday, Ruiz Jr posted a picture of some food prep, with the caption: “Gotta start now and only eat protein for 3 weeks.

“Getting ready before fight camp.”

‘The Destroyer’ then followed up his post with a shirtless snap, devoid of his famous gut.

“Slow but surely,” he wrote underneath. “Work in progress…”

Ruiz Jr usually operates between 255lbs and 265lbs, but for his last bout with Miller, he came in at 274lbs – his second heaviest weight to date.

The 35-year-old looked sluggish and was fortunate to scrape a draw.

Yet judging from recent pictures, he looks to be boiling down to his ideal fight weight as he starts the arduous climb back to the top.

Ruiz Jr tipped the scales at 268lbs when he stunned the boxing world by snatching the unified WBA, WBO and IBF heavyweight titles from Anthony Joshua in June 2019.

He is seemingly on the verge of mounting a comeback and looks to be in great shape

The heavy underdog stepped in on five weeks’ notice to replace Miller after the American failed a trio of drug tests and dropped AJ three times en route to a shocking seventh-round knockout win.

A rematch was then booked for December, and while Joshua took himself away from all of the external distractions and left no stone unturned in training, Ruiz Jr’s camp was less than ideal.

Ruiz Jr admits he spent three months partying and celebrating his career-best win, leading to 15lbs of weight gain.

The stocky boxer came in at a whopping 283.5lbs for their sequel and laboured to a wide unanimous decision loss.

“I don’t want to say the three months of partying or celebrating didn’t affect me, as to tell you the truth, it kind of did,” Ruiz said in the immediate aftermath.

“There’s no excuses. The partying got the best of me. The next fight is going to be a lot different.”

Ruiz Jr never got his trilogy bout with Joshua, despite his best efforts, while his career has stagnated since their second meeting.

The former heavyweight world champion has only fought three times in the last six years: a pair of wins over Chris Arreola and Luis Ortiz and the aforementioned draw with Miller.

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BOXING

FINALLY! Eddie Hearn reveals when Anthony Joshua will make long-awaited comeback

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Eddie Hearn Anthony Joshua

Anthony Joshua will return to the ring before the year is out.

The Watford powerhouse has been out of action since suffering a devastating knockout defeat to Daniel Dubois last September.

During his hiatus, AJ underwent elbow surgery, which will keep him out of high-intensity training for a few more weeks.

READ: “Be Ready”: Gervonta Davis Sets Sights On New Division As He Calls Out Undefeated World Champion

But with the end of his rehabilitation in sight, Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn has begun talking to his client about his next steps.

“AJ is going to get back into the ring around November, December,” Hearn told talkSPORT.com.

“He’s chilled. We don’t decide his opponent, he will, with his training team.

“But collectively, we will say, ‘Here are four or five guys, what do we think? What do we like?’

“Obviously, you do have to be conscious of a potential fight with Tyson Fury, but we are not going to hang around forever, so you need to come back with a good win, and that will be the plan at the end of the year…

“There have been some texts back and forth between me and him [about his next fight].

“He is a student of the game, he watches every heavyweight fight.

“So we just go, ‘What do you think about this guy?’

“But his general reaction is ‘Yeah, no problem’. I have never known him to say no to anyone.

“Maybe that is where we have maybe slipped up a couple of times.

“But that is the nature of man. He has fought everybody in his career, and he will continue to do so.”

A fight with Fury is not expected to come next as ‘The Gypsy King’ isn’t planning on competing again until 2026.

However, AJ could end up in the ring with another one of his long-time rivals, Deontay Wilder.

‘The Bronze Bomber’ returned to winning ways last weekend with a stoppage victory over underhanded American Tyrrell Herndon.

Hearn is currently in talks with Wilder’s manager, Shelly Finkel, over a possible clash with another one of his fighters, Dave Allen.

A fight with Wilder is a possibility next time out

But Hearn claims Team Wilder has also expressed interest in a bout with Joshua over the coming months.

Wilder is due to box twice more before the turn of the year and could close 2025 in style against Joshua after another tune-up.

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BOXING

Anthony Joshua ‘rejected four offers’ to face bitter rival in comeback fight

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Anthony Joshua

Jarrell Miller has accused Anthony Joshua of rejecting four offers to face him in a comeback this year.

Joshua has yet to pencil in his return date, having yet to compete since his brutal KO defeat to Daniel Dubois last September.

He has recently had surgery but is expected to eye a return before the end of 2025.

JUST IN: “Two Bangers”: Deontay Wilder Offered Fight With Fellow Heavyweight KO Artist

Several options are being explored including clashes with Jared Anderson and Deontay Wilder.

Miller has issued a regular call-out to Joshua, given the pair have clashed on multiple occasions.

The heavyweights were set to meet in 2019, but the American failed a drugs test.

But now ‘Big Baby’ has blamed AJ for the fight not materialising, accusing him of rebuffing new interest.

He told talkSPORT at the IBA conference in Turkey: “I’ve been training for about two and a half months.

“There is a possibility we could be looking at the Canelo vs Crawford undercard.

“AJ turned down the fight four times in the last month, he is looking for a tune-up.

“Sorry guys in the UK, AJ is a real bag of fart dust.”

Miller and Joshua do seem destined to meet given the depths of their personal rivalry.

Miller will now look to compete in a separate bout with a huge deal being eyed

They even reignited their feud in 2023 as they came face-to-face and nearly came to blows.

He is looking to pick up a much-needed victory, having lost to Dubois, before controversially drawing with Andy Ruiz Jr.

Meanwhile Joshua was initially hoping to rematch Dubois himself, but the plan was shelved.

He then intended to face another long-term rival in Tyson Fury, but the ‘Gypsy King’ has now retired.

Joshua is not in training camp right now, but is ready to take the division by the horns when he does return.

“This is my life,” he said. “But what I’ve done is I took a year out for the first time in 12 to 13 years as a professional, not including the amateur stuff.

“I took a year out to get my body right. I’m at a different stage of my career. I can look at time differently.

“I haven’t got all these years in front of me, so I’ve got to make an executive decision over what I do next.

“The minute I come back, I’m coming back with a bang rather than just keep rolling through, going through the motions.

“Let me take some time, and, the time I do come back, I’m coming back fully active and ready to go, take the division by storm.”

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BOXING

After KO Victory, Deontay Wilder Camp Confirms Huge Anthony Joshua News

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Deontay Wilder Anthony Joshua

The Bronze Bomber is truly back.

Despite looking a bit rusty, Deontay Wilder made a successful comeback against Tyrrell Herndon, dropping him in the 7th round, and looking a bit different. Gone was the bold, fiery, and relentless young fighter. Instead, the audience at Charles Koch Arena witnessed a composed, patient American boxer who wants to stay inside the squared circle for a few more years.

After the disastrous last 3 years, it was a statement victory, leaving his future wide open. Even before the June 27th clash, Wilder had expressed his desire to have 3 matches in the year. Meanwhile, rumors of a potential showdown with Anthony Joshua began to surface, with Eddie Hearn adding fuel by confirming interest in the matchup. However, amidst the chaos, Deontay Wilder stayed silent, focusing on the task at hand. Finally, with past frustrations behind him, the American boxer now eyes the future, advancing talks for a fight with Joshua.

Eat Sleep Boxing Repeat on X: "Will We Ever See Deontay Wilder 🆚 Anthony Joshua? 🇺🇸 🇬🇧 #WilderHerndon #boxing 🥊 https://t.co/VR8oL0s7ZM" / X

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On Sunday, boxing analyst Dan Rafael took to his ‘X’ to reveal an exclusive conversation he had with Wilder’s camp. “Spoke to Deontay Wilder manager Shelly Finkel. With Wilder winning return Fri night, they now have offer to fight this fall in South Korea,” he wrote. South Korea, for a heavyweight fight, is indeed an unlikely venue. However, as Wilder previously stated, for him, 2025 is a stepping stone; it seems plausible.

Rafael continued, “If the money is real the plan is to take that fight.” It would be Deontay Wilder’s second warm-up fight of the year, readying him for the blockbuster 2026 he is eyeing. “Then look for a big fight, preferably Joshua, for the next one in 2026. #boxing,” Rafael concluded.

Well, given everything we saw, it is the right choice. Both Deontay Wilder and Anthony Joshua are coming out of a bad phase. And despite the Bronze Bomber securing the victory, he was far from his best. Something that even he acknowledged in the post-match interview, where he kept the buzz for a potential AJ clash alive.

Deontay Wilder eyeing an explosive 2026

Following the fight, The Ring caught the former WBC heavyweight champion inside the ring for an interview. “It felt really good and it was a blessing to get back in there and get the rust off,” Wilder said with a bright smile. The last American heavyweight champion stated that he achieved everything that he wanted to in against Herndon. Still, he felt his performance could have been better.

The 39-year-old updated on his shoulder injury, revealing complete healing for the first time in four years. However, despite its healing, he wants to take things slow. “We’re going with the plan that we have. I definitely need a couple of more tune-ups. There is a lot more work to be done, so I can really feel satisfied and feel that I have truly returned,” he stated.

Wilder confirmed that 2025 will be tune-up fights and nothing else. However, for 2026, he is targeting a blockbuster clash against Anthony Joshua. “It could be against Joshua. If the fight was set up, we’ll be ready to go down those roads. A lot of money is on the line, but sometimes it’s not about the money because we have to make sure things are right. We’re in the hurt business,” he declared.

The 39-year-old explained that he and Joshua are both working through recent performance dips, and recovery will take time. “When we’re ready, everyone will know,” he said. So, right now, it is just a waiting game. For Wilder, for Joshua, and for the fans and everyone needs to be patient.

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