After spending years as a laughing stock, Jake Paul could secure the ultimate payday in a monumental fight against Anthony Joshua.
Jake Paul called out Anthony Joshua earlier this year in what was surely, at the time, a quick grab at attention and headlines, but has since become a genuine possibility.
Eddie Hearn hinted at the eye-watering sum of money Jake would be paid to face AJ. Hearn also likened AJ vs Paul to a magician escaping deep water, as he expressed concern for Paul’s safety, especially after fans witnessed what AJ did to Francis Ngannou.
AJ could sit out 2025 after suffering a brutal KO loss to Daniel Dubois late last year, and may return in early 2026 to face Paul, a sentence no boxing fan thought they would be reading just a few months ago.
Hearn has claimed that while the fight was never one on his radar, it may well be “the biggest moment, biggest fight in boxing.”
He even believes it’ll be bigger than a fight fans have yearned for for decades.
Anthony Joshua vs Jake Paul is bigger than AJ vs Tyson Fury, Hearn says
Whilst Hearn expressed that he never planned for this fight to happen, he acknowledged that the payday would be huge for his man, and suggested it was an opportunity they would not be able to turn down,
“It’s never a fight I called for, but if it’s presented, I can’t see us not taking it.”
Hearn went on to suggest that from a numbers perspective, the fight could be even bigger than Joshua vs Tyson Fury, a fight that fans have called for year after year after year.
Fury vs AJ finally looked possible after both men lost to Oleksandr Usyk, and with new Saudi investment in the sport would surely give both fighters career-high paydays, even if the fight is slightly past its sell-by date.
Hearn told IFL TV, “Probably, as a global event, it does bigger numbers than AJ Fury. Now, AJ Fury is an iconic boxing event which will probably be, or will be, the biggest fight in boxing… I say in boxing, AJ Jake Paul is in boxing, but as in a proper elite match-up.”
Whilst Hearn maintains AJ Fury is the biggest fight in boxing, he admits AJ vs Jake Paul is bigger as a global event.
Jake Paul called out Oleksandr Usyk to an MMA fight
Following Usyk’s second big win over Daniel Dubois in Wembley Stadium, in which Usyk stopped Dubois in the fifth round, Jake Paul entered the ring to face off with the pound-for-pound elite.
Whilst Dubois, who was accused of quitting again, was forced to swallow his pride, Paul was busy challenging Usyk to an MMA match, and can be heard telling the Ukrainian he hoped to meet him in the cage one day.
Paul is known for his ambitious call-outs, even nonsensical ones, having once called out Anthony Joshua – a heavyweight, and Gervonta Davis – a lightweight, in the same breath.
At least Paul seems to know he could certainly not beat Usyk in a boxing ring, resorting to a cage instead.