On November 12, Mike Coppinger of Ring Magazine made an X post that read, “Anthony Joshua and Jake Paul are finalizing a deal for a heavyweight fight on Netflix in December in Miami, sources tell @ringmagazine. Paul steps up massively to fight the former heavyweight champion after his exhibition with Gervonta Davis was cancelled. Major props to Paul.”

This has been the biggest news of the boxing world by far ever since it was announced. While there had been reports that Paul’s team was reaching out to several big-name boxers in order to try and get a Netflix fight in before the end of 2025, many were skeptical that they would be able to pull it off.

JUST IN: Canelo Alvarez offered new world title shot ‘to chase greatness’

Few believed that Paul would really be willing to step into the ring against an Olympic gold medalist and former heavyweight world champion like Anthony Joshua, especially on short notice.

However, Paul has seemingly proved a lot of people wrong. And while many are predicting that Paul will get knocked out by Joshua if this fight report is indeed true, Paul deserves a lot of credit for fighting a guy who is 100 pounds heavier and a foot taller than Gervonta.

Eddie Hearn Shuts Down Idea That Jake Paul vs. Anthony Joshua Is Done

Joshua is promoted by Eddie Hearn of Matchroom, who has gone on the record in the past saying that he and Paul’s team have been negotiating a potential bout between these two. However, Hearn seems to have taken exception to Wednesday’s fight report, which was conveyed by Ariel Helwani during a November 12 episode of The Ariel Helwani Show.

“In the midst of all this [Paul vs. Joshua fight reporting], I did reach out to Eddie Hearn,” Helwani said, per an X post from Jed I. Goodman. “And he said, ‘We have spoken, but nothing close. And I doubt he would be so crazy.’ He, being Jake.

“I then asked him, ‘Would you say this report is premature?’ [Hearn] said, ‘Absolutely’.

Therefore, it sounds like this fight is not finalized and that both sides are negotiating. Hearn didn’t seem to appreciate the timing of Coppinger’s announcement, as now it seems that both sides would need to come to terms unless they want the boxing world at their respective throats.

It will be interesting to see when this fight is finalized, and whether it does end up taking place in December like Paul’s team has wanted.

Matchroom chairman Eddie Hearn, who is the career-long promoter of Anthony Joshua, has commented on the mounting speculation that the former two-time heavyweight boxing champion will square-off with Jake Paul for a bout tentatively planned for December on Netflix.

The American, a former influencer who has emerged as an improbable face for the sport, if not crossover boxing at least, was scheduled to take part in an exhibition alongside Gervonta Davis on the 14th of November. However, the event at the Kaseya Center in Miami was nixed at the eleventh hour due to Tank’s apparent legal issues. With the cancellation so close to the event itself, Most Valuable Promotions chose to cancel the entire thing rather than bring in a late replacement. After getting rebuffed in their efforts to lure Francis Ngannou back to the ring, the focus now, it seems, is Joshua.

And, speaking to Boxing News, Hearn has had his say on whether the fight will go down as planned.

READ: Negotiation Details: Why Anthony Joshua Could Replace Davis in Fight with Jake Paul

Joshua and Paul were linked with one another earlier in the year, but the 28-year-old chose to close a deal with Davis, despite eight inches in height and more than 75 pounds in weight between them. Now, AJ appears to be firmly back in the mix.

Speaking to Boxing News, Hearn confirmed “we’ve spoken to Nakisa” Bidarian, who is Paul’s business partner and co-founder of Most Valuable Promotions.

Hearn continued: “Jake Paul would have to be mad to take this fight, but he is a little bid mad. I can’t rule it out. I can’t tell you, ‘It’s close’, or, ‘It’s on the verge’.”