Anthony Joshua and Jake Paul appear to be on the brink of signing a deal to face off.
The two stars have teased a fight with one another for a number of months, and speculation over a clash ramped up in recent weeks when Paul’s scheduled exhibition bout with Gervonta Davis was cancelled at the last moment.
That was due to happen this Friday, but ‘The Problem Child’ will now instead return in December, with the likes of Joshua, Andre Ward and Francis Ngannou all previously touted as potential opponents.
It seems that Joshua is the one that will be standing in the opposite corner, as the Ring’s Mike Coppinger reports that talks are now in the final stages.
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. pic.twitter.com/lr8OdmapUN
— Mike Coppinger (@MikeCoppinger) November 12, 2025
It signals a huge change for Paul, whose original opponent stands at 5ft 5in and weighs 135lbs, compared to Joshua – 6ft 6in and 252lbs for his last contest.
Joshua hasn’t fought since a September 2024 defeat to Daniel Dubois, but the former unified world heavyweight champion will still be seen as a monumental favourite against Paul, whose best win arguably came back in June when he defeated faded ex-WBC middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. His one experience at heavyweight was in 2024 against a 58-year-old Mike Tyson – an underwhelming eight round points decision.
‘AJ’s team insist that he remains focused on either one last world title tilt or a mega-money clash with Tyson Fury in the new year, and will tell fans that this should be seen as a warm-up bout with a significant purse before he returns to the more traditional side of the sport. Promoter Eddie Hearn has previously called the match-up easy money, though also admitted it is dangerous for the American. Some will be reminded of Joshua’s fight against former UFC Heavyweight Champion Ngannou, the latter’s second professional boxing contest, which ended in a particularly brutal second round stoppage for the Brit.
