Jake Paul has reportedly struck an “agreement in principle” to face two-time heavyweight world champion Anthony Joshua in 2026, his team confirmed on Monday, September 22.
The YouTuber-turned-professional boxer first called out Joshua earlier this year, sparking widespread speculation about a potential blockbuster matchup.
Paul, 28, will first face lightweight champion Gervonta Davis, 30, in an exhibition bout scheduled for November 14 in Miami. The announcement comes amid ongoing negotiations to secure a heavyweight clash with Joshua the following year.
Nakisa Bidarian, co-founder of Most Valuable Promotions alongside Paul, led talks with Joshua’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, and confirmed that Anthony Joshua remains a target for 2026. “Anthony Joshua is 100 per cent still a target,” Bidarian said. “He’s trying to fight in February, I think in Ghana, they’ve come out with that. But pending this fight and pending everything coming together, absolutely. We have an agreement in principle.”
Bidarian added that the fight is likely to take place in the United States.
Joshua, 35, has not fought since his knockout loss to Daniel Dubois, 28, at Wembley Stadium in September 2024. Following the defeat, Joshua underwent elbow surgery over the summer and is expected to return to the ring early next year. Hearn confirmed that Joshua has received an offer to fight in Ghana, which could potentially serve as a warm-up bout before a 2026 matchup with Tyson Fury.
Fury, 37, retired in January after consecutive losses to Oleksandr Usyk, 38, but has hinted at a comeback while being called out by Joshua online.
Jake Paul, who moved up to heavyweight last year during Mike Tyson’s controversial comeback at age 58, weighed in at 16st 2lb (227lb) for his previous bout, still two stone lighter than Joshua’s last fighting weight of 18st. The fight drew over 100 million viewers on Netflix as Tyson lost across eight shorter two-minute rounds.
Paul subsequently returned to cruiserweight in June, defeating former middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., 39, in California. Plans for a potential bout with Canelo Alvarez, 35, collapsed after Alvarez opted to face Terence Crawford, 37, in a later fight, losing in September.
Gervonta Davis was initially scheduled to fight Paul earlier this year but drew with Lamont Roach, 30, in March. After refusing a rematch, negotiations with Paul’s team resumed, leading to the announcement of their upcoming exhibition. The fight will follow rules including a 195lb maximum weight, 12oz gloves, 10 rounds of three minutes each, with three judges scoring, and the outcome not counting toward professional records.
Bidarian clarified the timeline: “Canelo was the first choice, we believed we had that deal done, obviously there was a different outcome. This was the next fight. There were never any discussions to fight Anthony Joshua in 2025. That was always a 2026 discussion.”
Hearn previously told Sky Sports that while the team is open to a Joshua-Paul matchup, the bout cannot proceed until Paul completes his exhibition against Davis. “We’re certainly not holding out for a Jake Paul fight. We’re making our own plans for January or February 2026,” Hearn said.
Hearn added, “They’ve come on to me and said they want to make that fight [with AJ]. I said I can’t make that fight until you’ve fought Gervonta Davis in this exhibition. 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.”
Spanish Club UD Almería have announced that they will donate all ticket sales revenue from their home match against CD Tenerife to support the family of Jesús de Miguel.
The initiative was established by club president Mohammed Al Khereiji as the Spanish club seeks to provide financial assistance to the bereaved family following their loss.
Announcing the decision, the club expressed its sympathy and acknowledged that no amount of financial assistance could make up for the loss of a loved one.
As reported by ESPN on Wednesday, the club was quoted as saying, “We are fully aware that nothing can ever compensate for the loss of a loved one, and that no form of support, whether financial or emotional, can ease the pain caused by a tragedy of this kind.”
Despite recognising the limitations of the gesture, UD Almería hope that donating the entire proceeds from the match will provide some support to Jesús de Miguel’s family during this difficult period.
The initiative comes under the leadership of Al Khereiji, who is the club’s president.
It also puts the spotlight on UD Almería’s ownership, with Portuguese football superstar Cristiano Ronaldo having acquired a 25 per cent stake in the Spanish club earlier this year.
Borussia Dortmund’s 8-4 victory over Legia Warszawa remains the highest-scoring match in UEFA Champions League history, while Como’s 9-1 demolition of Lens has joined the competition’s list of most prolific encounters.
The Dortmund-Legia encounter produced 12 goals during the 2016/17 group stage, with the German side emerging victorious in a remarkable contest.
According to the UEFA website on Wednesday, the match featured five goals in the opening 32 minutes, including a spell in which three goals were scored within four minutes.
Aleksandar Prijović gave Legia a 10th-minute lead, but Shinji Kagawa scored twice in quick succession to put Dortmund ahead.
Marco Reus also registered a brace, while three goals were scored in the closing 10 minutes to complete the 8-4 result.
Como’s 9-1 victory away to Lens on November 4, 2026, also entered the record books, with the 10-goal encounter ranking among the highest-scoring matches in the competition.
Bayern Munich’s 9-2 victory over GNK Dinamo in September 2024 and Monaco’s 8-3 win against Deportivo La Coruña in November 2003 are other notable entries on the list.
Barcelona’s 8-2 defeat of Bayern Munich in the 2019/20 campaign also features among the highest-scoring Champions League matches.
Bayern thrash Barca 8-2
Full list of highest-scoring Champions League matches
• Borussia Dortmund 8-4 Legia Warszawa — November 22, 2016 (12 goals)
Como have joined Liverpool and Real Madrid in recording the biggest winning margin in UEFA Champions League history after thrashing Lens 9-1 in their Matchday 4 encounter on Tuesday night.
The Italian side’s nine-goal haul secured an eight-goal victory margin, equalling Liverpool’s 8-0 defeat of Beşiktaş in 2007 and Real Madrid’s 8-0 triumph over Malmö in 2015.
According to the UEFA website on Wednesday, Como also became only the second team after Bayern Munich to score nine goals in a Champions League match.
Tasos Douvikas scored a hat-trick in the encounter, while six other Como players also found the net as the competition debutants recorded the biggest away victory in the tournament’s history.
Liverpool were the first team to achieve an eight-goal winning margin when they defeated Beşiktaş 8-0 during the 2007/08 group stage.
Crouch scores two joining Yossi Benayoun who scored hatrick. Ryan Babel also netted a brace and captain Steven Gerrard scored the eight goal
Yossi Benayoun scored three goals, while Ryan Babel and Peter Crouch each contributed two. Steven Gerrard completed the scoring as Liverpool secured the record victory despite having collected just one point from their opening three group matches.
Real Madrid matched the feat on December 8, 2015, when they overwhelmed Malmö 8-0 at home.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored four goals, setting what was then an individual group-stage record of 11 goals, while Karim Benzema registered a hat-trick.
Ronaldo nets four in Malmö thrashing
Bayern Munich also feature prominently in the record books after defeating GNK Dinamo 9-2 on September 17, 2024, establishing a new record for the most goals scored by a team in a single Champions League match.
Harry Kane scored four goals in the encounter, while Michael Olise added two.
