‘The Problem Child’ may finally have secured his goal of facing a fellow superstar.
Jake Paul has received criticism in the past for calling out some of boxing’s biggest names as he continues to climb the ladder.
‘The Problem Child’ certainly has the star status to attract massive fights due to the kind of purses that would be up for grabs but he hasn’t been facing elite level opposition.
What at first seemed like a matchup that wouldn’t lead anywhere, now appears to have some weight behind it, with Paul potentially facing Anthony Joshua following a positive update.
The latest statement on this fight, which suggests that it will be happening in the near future, has caused a strong reaction from fans.
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Fans react to Eddie Hearn’s latest update on Jake Paul facing Anthony Joshua
At the end of July, Jake Paul’s manager Nakisa Bidarian told Sky Sports that he believes a fight with Anthony Joshua can happen and that there had already been talks with Matchroom Boxing.
The next update on this unexpected matchup came just over a week later, courtesy of Matchroom’s Eddie Hearn, who also provided an update via Sky Sports.
Hearn confirmed that there have been talks with Bidarian and Most Valuable Promotions [MVP] which are set to continue.
He also stated that despite being somewhat lost for words when talking about this fight, he believes that Paul is now in pole position to welcome Joshua back to the ring, stating that he thinks it will take place early in 2026.
“Lots. This bizarre world that we live in, I think Jake Paul is absolutely the frontrunner to fight Anthony Joshua next. I’m hearing New York for meetings about that fight. There’s an open dialogue between myself and Nakisa and MVP. I don’t know what to tell you.”
Fans reacted to Hearn’s latest comments after a clip of the update was posted on Sky Sports’ social media platforms, and they were unsurprisingly displeased about the prospect of it happening.
‘What a shambles of a sport.’
‘This is very irresponsible.’
‘Joke fighters and joke match up. Zero PPVs incoming.’
‘Typifies how unserious and poorly managed boxing is these days if this is true…’
‘What an absolute shambles, boxing is well and truly dead.’
‘Yeah, boxing is turning into a circus.’
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Eddie Hearn warns Jake Paul about the dangers of taking this fight
With many of the reactions to this update criticizing the matchup, clearly a lot of fans believe that Jake Paul is out of his depth and that Anthony Joshua shouldn’t be entertaining this fight.
Eddie Hearn clearly stated that he believes the whole thing is “mental”, while also admitting that money talks in boxing.
Hearn did also issue a warning to Paul about the dangers in taking this fight and how he’s going to approach it.
“I can’t sit here and tell you this is a 50:50 matchup. The whole thing is bizarre. I think it’s extremely dangerous for Jake Paul… If you go in there thinking you’re going to win, that’s even more dangerous.
“I know commercially this fight breaks all kinds of records and I don’t even know what’s going on to know that we’re even sitting there negotiating this fight but I truly believe you’re going to see it at the beginning of 2026 and I don’t know what else to tell you.”