An Anthony Joshua vs Jake Paul fight is now more of a possibility than ever before.
Ever since the post-fight callout from ‘The Problem Child’, it has split opinion in the boxing world, but fighters like cruiserweight prospect Viddal Riley want AJ v Paul next.
Joshua is still plotting his return to the ring this year after his loss last September to Daniel Dubois at Wembley Stadium.
While the 35-year-old’s trainer broke his silence on the fight, his promoter has now had discussions with ‘El Gallo’s’ promotional company, Most Valuable Promotions, on the likelihood of making the contest.
Early Anthony Joshua vs Jake Paul ‘mismatch’ discussions have taken place, confirms Eddie Hearn
Eddie Hearn, in an interview with IFL TV, confirmed that he has had a talk with Nakisa Badirian of MVP over the logistics of a mega-fight between their money fighters.
While maintaining caution on concrete promises, he said: “Yes, I had close to an hour with Nakisa earlier this week… We kind of went through the contractual points, and there aren’t really any major barriers to make this fight.
“I want to make this clear, I am not calling for this, or we are targeting this fight.”
This follows comments made by Bidarian earlier this week in which he reiterated his belief that the fight can happen, and the Ohio boxer is confident he can upset Watford’s own.
However, Hearn gave his thoughts on the proposed contest itself and the belief of the American.
“I think the fight is a mismatch, I think AJ destroys him, but if Jake Paul wants this fight and he is serious, then the fight will happen,” he said.
“This really comes down to Jake’s beliefs slash delusions. I said to Nakisa, ‘This is dangerous’.”
Anthony Joshua has only lost to one opponent around Jake Paul’s weight
While he has competed as a cruiserweight throughout the majority of his career, the influencer famously fought heavyweight icon Mike Tyson in the glamour division of the sport.
He weighed in at 227.2 lbs for the bout, and he is likely to stay around that mark for any fight in the division.
Joshua, though, has had some great successes when facing eight opponents around the 220-230 lb mark, with seven stoppage wins, including a signature victory over Alexander Povetkin.
However, he has faced defeat to Oleksandr Usyk twice, who was within the weight but, it has to be said, Paul is not at the skills level of the Ukrainian magician.
What the weight does show, though, is the ability to take a shot; most of the aforementioned opponents, besides Povetkin and Usyk, didn’t make it past the third round.
So, for a novice like the former Disney Channel star, who hasn’t tasted real heavyweight power, it could be a very difficult night in the ring.