“I will f—ing beat Anthony Joshua’s a—. He doesn’t have a chin, has no skill, and he’s stiff.” When Jake Paul dropped this bombshell on a podcast back in March, the boxing world couldn’t stop talking. The conversation escalated when His Excellency Turki Alalshikh got involved and threw his support behind the fight, with Joshua’s promoter giving his seal of approval to make the fight happen. Instead of the Anthony Joshua fight, Jake Paul announced an exhibition matchup.

He is now fighting Gervonta Davis on November 14th, live on Netflix from the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida. “If you get chinned by Gervonta Davis, don’t think you’re fighting Anthony Joshua, it’s ridiculous. So we’d rather they didn’t take that fight if we’re going to make the [AJ] fight,” Eddie Hearn told Sky Sports, giving Jake Paul an ultimatum. Regardless, with the fight now back on the road, Paul’s business partner has responded to Hearn’s ultimatum. 

Jake Paul and Anthony Joshua already have an agreement

Speaking to Fight Hub TV during Davis and Paul’s first face-off for their November bout, Paul’s business partner Nakisa Bidarian revealed Joshua is still on their radar. “Anthony Joshua’s 100% still a target,” Bidarian said. “He’s trying to fight in February, I think they said, in Ghana, they’ve come out with that, but pending this fight and pending everything coming together. Absolutely.” When the reporter pressed further about negotiations, Bidarian revealed, “Yeah, we have an agreement in principle. That will be in America, baby.”

Despite Bidarian’s confidence, Hearn has revealed that he is not holding out for the Jake Paul fight, promising Joshua’s return in January or February next year. The Brit is also hoping that a fight against longtime rival Tyson Fury would materialize despite the latter’s retirement and unwillingness to come out of it. “So the next move is to lock in that fight in early 2026, and then we want Tyson Fury,” Hearn said. Meanwhile, Matchroom CEO Frank Smith told Daily Mail Sport in August that Joshua may end up fighting in Ghana. 

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French heavyweight Tony Yoka has attempted to throw his name into the hat for a fight. However, nothing has been confirmed on that end quite yet. “Tony Yoka, he’s definitely on a list of, I don’t know, 10. I expect it to be a top-20 guy,” Hearn said. “It’s not going to be top five. This is a comeback fight that should possess some danger to show that we’re ready to roll the dice in a massive fight,” Hearn said. 

For now, Joshua appears to be focused on recovery, still working his way back from the elbow surgery he underwent following his loss to Daniel Dubois last year. Regardless, can Jake Paul get past Gervonta Davis to remain in contention for the Joshua fight? 

Dana White predicts ‘El Gallo’ Paul vs. Gervonta Davis

Dana White has never been shy about sharing his thoughts on Paul, and ahead of Paul’s November 14 exhibition, the UFC CEO didn’t hold back. Speaking on Logan Paul’s Impaulsive podcast, White admitted he respected Davis’ talent but believes size will play the deciding role. “I don’t hate your brother,” White told Logan. “You know what is funny about your brother? He’s going to fight f—ing Gervonta Davis.”

White recalled Logan Paul’s size advantage when Logan fought Floyd Mayweather. “You guys need to fight guys your f—ing same size… Floyd’s tiny… and he did hit you with a bomb of an overhand right one time, and you f—ing ate it.” Comparing that to Davis, White added: “Gervonta, I think, hits way harder than f—— Floyd, but he’s too small. Your brother’s going to be able to get inside on him, put his weight on him, tie him up.”

Having said that, it appears team Jake Paul is still holding on to a potential fight against Anthony Joshua. However, Joshua appears to have moved on, as he plots his early 2026 return and a fight against rival Tyson Fury. Do you think Paul vs. Joshua would happen?