Anthony Joshua and his next opponent in boxing appear close to locking in an agreement for a heavyweight spectacle in the coming months, and that raises alarm bells for the former two-time champion’s long-time promoter, Eddie Hearn, who is the chairman of flourishing British sports firm Matchroom.
Joshua has beaten a who’s who of big-name fighters in his division throughout the years, including Dillian Whyte, Wladimir Klitschko, Joseph Parker, Alexander Povetkin, and Otto Wallin. He has not fought, though, since his brutal fifth-round knockout loss to Daniel Dubois — which took place at Wembley Stadium in London almost one year ago — and is not expected to return to the ring until “early 2026.”
Oleksandr Usyk, who has beaten Joshua twice already, owns all of the heavyweight world titles right now, and Joshua’s long-time rival Tyson Fury remains retired. This leaves few obvious opponents for AJ to fight, however, of all the names linked to the superstar fighter, there is one who is “a very real” candidate to fight Joshua, according to Hearn.
| Anthony Joshua’s professional boxing record (as of 04/08/25) |
| 32 fights |
28 wins |
4 losses |
| By knockout |
25 |
2 |
| By decision |
3 |
2 |
Hearn sees the bout as a mismatch
The fight is a “dangerous” one, said Hearn when talking to Ring Magazine.
Previously, Hearn had said Whyte, Jared Anderson, and even Deontay Wilder were in the running to box Joshua next. Yet a new candidate has emerged as a “50-50” probability to fight the Brit because of what Hearn sees as the enormous financial viability of the showdown.
“This is very real,” Hearn added, regarding a crossover contest involving Jake Paul.
Hearn said that he and Paul’s business partner and Most Valuable Promotions co-founder, Nikisa Bidarian, had an hour-long chat on July 30 to discuss the likelihood of the improbable worlds of Paul, and Joshua, colliding.
“Nakisa was very honest and he’s concerned about the fight but Jake truly believes he can win the fight or at least be competitive in it.”
“And now, because of the size of the fight, it leads me to believe there’s a very good chance it could happen. If I had to rate that chance I would say it’s 50:50. It was a very positive conversation and we expect that conversation to extend over the coming weeks.”
“If they really want it, it will happen.”
One obstacle block in the match-up regards weight, as Paul is typically a cruiserweight. Joshua, though, is an established heavyweight who is an effective giant at 6-foot-6 and around 250 pounds in weight. But Hearn insists both guys would weigh a similar amount on the night. As much as there could be people who point at Joshua’s decline, or to Paul’s gradual developments, but Hearn, still, struggles to “justify” a “mismatch.”
“It’s dangerous in my opinion.”
Hearn continued: “I think Joshua is probably yet to get his head round it until he knows that it’s a possibility. After my call this week I’d say it’s definitely a possibility. AJ understands the commercial world and will look at this and see that it’s huge. It would probably be the biggest fight that could ever happen anywhere. It would be right up there with his biggest purses ever. You can talk about the boxing world but this would be the outer world.”
It is the type of contest Joshua has willingly engaged in before, considering he took on the former UFC champion Francis Ngannou, and dispatched of him with ease because of a brutal, second-round knockout. There is a motivation in doing the same to Paul, so that the former creator and YouTube star’s run in boxing can finally come to an end, Hearn said.
“This is dangerous. This is like tuning in to watch David Blaine but much more dangerous and much more real. You’re not trying to escape from a box in three minutes, you’re in there with one of the biggest punchers of all time and it isn’t a game.
“It’s never I’ve called for or told people we’re targeting this but I do also understand the colossal size of this fight commercially and probably the appetite from a lot of people to evaporate Jake Paul from the boxing world. That is probably what this does.”
