Anthony Joshua promoter explains why Jake Paul clash would be bigger than Tyson Fury fight

Anthony Joshua vs Jake Paul holds the most commercial value in boxing right now, Matchroom Boxing CEO Frank Smith suggested.

Joshua is currently in talks for a staggering boxing clash with YouTuber-turned-fighter Paul.

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There is a gulf in class between the pair with the Briton a two-time former heavyweight world champion, while Paul has had just 13 professional fights against largely limited opposition.

Several options lay on the table for Joshua’s comeback fight, and he has also been heavily linked with a two-fight blockbuster deal with bitter rival Tyson Fury.

And despite the boxing purist wanting to see AJ finally settle his feud with the ‘Gypsy King’, Smith believes the commercial value lies in a duel with Paul.

“2026 is going to be a huge year for Anthony Joshua,” Smith said on talkSPORT’s Hawksbee & Jacobs.

“It is a random fight with Jake Paul, but it is the biggest fight out there at the moment.

“Anthony Joshua vs Jake Paul on the global scale is bigger than Anthony Joshua vs Tyson Fury. That is the world we live in right now.

“The Tyson Fury fight is still a huge fight, and if he decides to come back from retirement, I’m sure that can also get made in 2026.

“AJ has does everything in the sport, he still has a lot more to offer but in this business people get written off.

“I think you will see him in a great year next year in the biggest events possible.

“From a commercial perspective he’s in the driving seat, AJ delivers the biggest numbers.”

How realistic is Anthony Joshua vs Jake Paul?

Paul has already shown he is a commercial super power in boxing despite his limited experience.

But he would be an overwhelming underdog in a clash with Joshua, with many expecting a booming KO from the Briton.

The ‘Problem Child’ has even received health warnings from Smith’s Matchroom Boxing colleague Eddie Hearn, who suggested Paul will be decapitated by Joshua.

Paul has only fought at heavyweight once, and that was against 58-year-old veteran Mike Tyson, whom he beat in a huge money-spinning event.

But Smith ultimately believes a fight with Joshua will spell an end to Paul’s time in the ring.

He added: “I think you have to respect what Jake Paul has done.

“He’s not at the level of Anthony Joshua, and he keeps calling people and one day these fights will happen.

“This is the reality, and I think this could be the end of Jake Paul’s influencer dreams of becoming a boxer.

“I don’t think he can knock out AJ, but we shall see.”

Anthony Joshua fight can absolutely happen, says Paul’s manager

Jake Paul’s manager Nakisa Bidarian has told Sky Sports he is holding talks about a blockbuster fight with Anthony Joshua.

Joshua, who has not fought since losing to Daniel Dubois in September last year, underwent elbow surgery in May but is targeting a return to the ring later in 2025.

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Since then, YouTuber-turned-professional boxer Paul beat veterans Mike Tyson and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. at heavyweight and cruiserweight respectively.

After defeating Chavez by unanimous decision last month, Paul audaciously called for a showdown with Joshua and has met with Turki Alalshikh to try and make it happen.

“I think the fight can absolutely happen,” Bidarian told Sky Sports News. “I’m looking at it as Jake versus Joshua, which is quite biblical, and it’s quite impactful in many ways.

“I think size wise, we can get comfortable with it, and I think experience wise, Jake is learning very fast and growing, and Joshua is a little long in the tooth. So it could be a very interesting matchup, and we’re actively discussing it with Matchroom.

“I think we’re looking at it happening at the start of 2026. It’s public that AJ was taking a little time away, I think he had a little surgery. So once he’s ready, and once Jake is ready, we’re going to squarely focus on that.

“It’s a fight that Jake wants to do, and that’s a discussion we’ve had at length, and he feels very confident about where he is in his career and his chances of upsetting Anthony Joshua.”

There are plenty of concerns over whether Paul will be able to make the step up to take on a world-leading heavyweight like Joshua, but Bidarian is adamant his star client would not take the fight if he wasn’t ready.

“Power is obviously the last thing to go,” he added. “So obviously, AJ has a ton of power, and he’s still fairly young. Mike Tyson – much more vicious of a knockout artist than Anthony Joshua – that was a risk Jake was willing to take.

“Francis Ngannou, amazing MMA fighter, very powerful man, but not an experienced boxer, right? He is a lot less experienced than Jake Paul. So if people were comfortable with Francis getting in there with AJ, Jake, who is now 13 fights in, plus one amateur fight, then we are comfortable with this.

“Wembley’s definitely a possibility. Jake said he’d like to do it there. He likes the idea of going in and hearing 90,000 people booing him!”

Tyson Fury is currently retired from boxing but has teased a return to the sport, and promoter Hearn is still keen to make a Joshua-Fury fight.

“AJ has been out [of action] for coming up to a year in September, so we definitely want to fight again,” Hearn said earlier this month.

Hearn: A chance to ‘extinguish’ Jake Paul from world of boxing

Paul propelled himself to fame on YouTube but has now won 12 fights after launching his boxing career in 2020.

The 28-year-old suffered defeat to Tommy Fury in 2023 but has gone on to beat former UFC star Nate Diaz, professional American boxers Andre August and Ryan Bourland, plus former UFC fighter Mike Perry.

A controversially-sanctioned bout against Tyson is Paul’s only heavyweight fight so far, before he stepped down to cruiserweight against Chavez.

“AJ-Paul is never a fight we anticipated, and it’s never a fight we’ve targeted,” Hearn added. “But if you want Jake Paul to be the warm-up fight [for Tyson Fury] – and obviously, financially, it’s a great opportunity for AJ – and you want to provide AJ with the opportunity to extinguish Jake Paul from the world of boxing, then maybe AJ would oblige.

“Jake’s a big, strong cruiserweight. I don’t think he’s particularly competitive, but we know in the world we live in, a lot of people would watch it.

“It may be the biggest fight that can be made, bizarrely, in the sport. I’m not going to sit here and tell you, ‘yeah, it’s a great challenge’.

“I think he gets flattened ASAP, but there’ll be a huge amount of people globally that would want to watch that.

“We’ll see. His Excellency said to us, ‘would you be interested in making the fight?’ I can’t say no, because until we know the proposal, maybe. And if Jake Paul is crazy enough to step in the ring with Anthony Joshua, and he might be, because of the amount of money that will be at stake, who knows? You could see AJ against Jake Paul next.”

Jake Paul faces competition for Anthony Joshua fight as new rival emerges

Tony Yoka is eager to derail Jake Paul’s plans to face Anthony Joshua by challenging the two-time heavyweight champion himself.

Yoka – who claimed Olympic gold in Rio – appeared destined for greatness following his professional debut in 2017, but the previously unbeaten heavyweight endured three consecutive losses to Martin Bakole, Carlos Takam and Ryad Merhy.

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He has since clawed his way back into contention with victories over Amine Boucetta, Lamah Griggs and Arslan Yallyev. Following those three triumphs, the Frenchman secured a lucrative deal with Queensberry Promotions as he seeks to re-establish himself as a heavyweight threat.

After the announcement, speculation regarding a potential clash between Yoka and Joshua began to swirl, reports All Out Fighting. The French heavyweight was quick to respond to those rumours, telling BoxNation: “I mean, I heard some rumours about it. I believe in my team.

“I believe in Queensberry, my manager and my coach to do the best fights for me. I’m not in any talks with him so I don’t know what’s going on. What I know is that I’m getting ready for anybody and after this big win, if they ask or propose me to fight Joshua, of course. That would be a great, great fight for me to take.”

Joshua has remained inactive since his crushing loss to Daniel Dubois in September 2024 – but is eyeing a comeback before the end of the year. While Yoka reckons Joshua might have bigger fish to fry, the 33-year-old Frenchman would jump at the chance to square off against ‘AJ’ without hesitation.

“There is a history behind it as two Olympic gold medalists. I think that’s something that makes sense,” he continued. “I saw him fight some guys that I didn’t even know. I think it was just before Otto Wallin he fought a guy, I don’t know the guy [Joshua beat Jermaine Franklin and Robert Helenius]. I understand that he lost against Dubois last year. They might want to do something like Joshua-Fury or whatever. You want a fight before that, I’m here. You don’t have to look like too far from there.”

A potential clash between Joshua and Yoka could deal a massive setback to Paul. The YouTuber-turned-boxer and the British heavyweight have verbally committed to a bout. During a recent Sky Sports interview, Paul’s promoter and business partner – Nakisa Bidarian – disclosed that he’s in talks with Eddie Hearn and that the encounter could materialise much earlier than expected.

“I think the fight can absolutely happen,” he said. “I’m looking at it as Jake versus Joshua, which is quite biblical, and it’s quite impactful in many ways. I think size wise, we can get comfortable with it, and I think experience wise, Jake is learning very fast and growing, and Joshua is a little long in the tooth. So it could be a very interesting matchup, and we’re actively discussing it with Matchroom.

“I think we’re looking at it happening at the start of 2026. It’s public that AJ was taking a little time away, I think he had a little surgery. So once he’s ready, and once Jake is ready, we’re going to squarely focus on that. It’s a fight that Jake wants to do, and that’s a discussion we’ve had at length, and he feels very confident about where he is in his career and his chances of upsetting Anthony Joshua.”

When is Jake Paul’s next fight?

After making a successful comeback to the ring in June, Paul is keen to keep the momentum going. The American is now able to compete for a world title, having been ranked in the WBC’s cruiserweight listings after his victory over Chavez Jr.

The manager of the 28-year-old fighter revealed that his client is keen to compete for a world title ‘as soon as possible’. However, he concedes it’s unlikely to be his next match, considering the current landscape at 200lbs. “Absolutely [he will fight again this year]. November or December,” Bidarian informed Ariel Helwani when queried about Paul’s forthcoming plans.

“I’m meeting him tonight for dinner, and we’ll discuss [his next opponent]. The only certainty right now is that Jake is eager to compete for a belt at the earliest opportunity. I need to have a chat with him, I reckon it’s a tall order this year [to box for a world title]. Badou Jack is the one he’s most interested in taking on, but he’s obligated to a rematch with the bloke he just defeated [Noel Mikaelian] for the WBC. I’m not sure if a title bout is feasible this year, but we’ll see.”

Jake Paul’s promoter believes a fight with Anthony Joshua could happen early next year.

The YouTuber-turned-pugilist has spent most of the year campaigning for a scrap with the former two-time heavyweight world champion. Following his expression of interest during his podcast earlier this year, Paul engaged in a brief telephone conversation with Joshua, with both men ultimately reaching a verbal agreement for a blockbuster encounter.

Earlier this month, Paul was present ringside for Oleksandr Usyk’s victory over Daniel Dubois and confirmed that a future bout with Joshua will occur next year. He told DAZN: “Yeah 100 per cent it’s going to happen. We’re going to do the unthinkable and create one of the biggest fights in the history of boxing.”

READ: Jake Paul told by WBC exactly how to earn world title shot as imminent fight ruled out

espite speculation surrounding the heavyweight clash taking place towards the end of 2026, Paul’s promoter and business partner – Nakisa Bidarian – has disclosed that he is engaged in talks with Eddie Hearn and that the encounter could materialise much earlier than expected, reports All Out Fighting.

Speaking to Sky Sports, he said: “I think the fight can absolutely happen. I’m looking at it as Jake versus Joshua, which is quite biblical, and it’s quite impactful in many ways. I think size wise, we can get comfortable with it, and I think experience wise, Jake is learning very fast and growing, and Joshua is a little long in the tooth. So it could be a very interesting matchup, and we’re actively discussing it with Matchroom.

“I think we’re looking at it happening at the start of 2026. It’s public that AJ was taking a little time away, I think he had a little surgery. So once he’s ready, and once Jake is ready, we’re going to squarely focus on that. It’s a fight that Jake wants to do, and that’s a discussion we’ve had at length, and he feels very confident about where he is in his career and his chances of upsetting Anthony Joshua.”

Meanwhile, a sports finance expert has predicted a potential clash between the duo could generate $40million (£30m). With millions across the globe expected to watch, it’s hardly shocking that both fighters would be handsomely compensated for their efforts.

Nevertheless, it appears money isn’t the primary motivation for Paul. The American is evidently desperate to secure the bout and is even prepared to accept a ONE PER CENT share of the prize money. This comes from Saudi boxing chief Turki Alalshikh, who revealed during a recent stint on ‘The Boxing Voice’: “I’m not against what Jake Paul’s doing in boxing, it’s good for boxing to have a young generation.

“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.”