Not long after the sweat had dried following Jake Paul’s victory over Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., he disclosed he’s in talks to fight another former champion: Anthony Joshua, who held the unified heavyweight belts in 2016 and 2021.
‘Anthony Joshua is an insane fight, but I want that challenge,’ Paul said at a post-fight news conference Saturday, June 28. ‘We’ve been DM’ing back and forth. He wants to make it happen. He called me up and it’s looking very likely for next year.’
In his last fight, Joshua (28-4, 25 KOs) suffered a devastating fifth-round knockout loss to Daniel Dubois. But at 6-6, he would have a five-inch height advantage over Paul (12-1, 7 KOs) along with significantly more experience.
‘I like the challenge,’ Paul said. ‘That’s the criticism, people will say, ‘Fight someone in their prime who’s a beast.’ I think people just really want to see me lose. That’s really what the message is behind it all.’
Jake Paul lists other options for next fight
Even though Paul’s negotiations with Canelo Alvarez unraveled in February, he said a fight between the two still could materialize.
‘No, he’s not out of the picture,’ said Paul, who added that it could hinge on Paul winning a cruiserweight world title. That would lure Alvarez into the ring because it would give him a chance to become a five-weight champion, Paul speculated.
‘I think that would be what interests him, and that’s the plan,’ Paul said.
Other potential future opponents, Paul said, include WBC cruiserweight champion Badou Jack, WBA lightweight champion Gervonta Davis and Tommy Fury, the only boxer to beat Paul. Fury won that eight-round fight by unanimous decision in 2023.
‘I don’t even think I was a fighter then,’ Paul said. ‘That was like 2 1/2 years into the sport, and I didn’t know what I was doing. I didn’t have the proper team around me. I didn’t have conditioning. My lifestyle outside of the ring was still that of a YouTuber, celebrity, actor, whatever I was at that point in time.
‘So I wasn’t fully focused on boxing. Like I said, chapter one is done tonight, and now we’re moving into chapter two. I’m just getting warmed up in the sport. People hold the Tommy Fury thing against me, but what now? I just beat a former world champion, and I’m coming to avenge that loss as well with Tommy.’