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.”
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