Eddie Hearn says Anthony Joshua vs. Jake Paul is commercially “the biggest fight in boxing”. Now he sees the potential that this fight is the greatest. Hearn revealed on Sunday that the talks are in the “advanced” stage of the fight Joshua-Paul and believes that this will happen.
“Advanced” negotiations of Hearna’s fight
“I would say Advanced is a word that would produce lures,” said Eddie Hearn Stamping ground About how far it is in the negotiations about the fight between Anthony Joshua and Jake Paul. “I have never really expected this fight, but the more conversations I have, the more I think there is a very good chance that it can happen.”
A lot has changed in Jake Paul’s career to make him an attractive option for Josua to fight. He had two fights with Mike Tyson and Julio Emperor Chavez Jr., who attracted a lot of attention. Four fights AJ Hearna was a complete failure.
“I believe that Jake Paul wants to fight. Don’t ask me, But he believes he can win And this is even more threatening. You can enter and think: “Well, if I am wounded.” No, he is convinced that he is beating Anthony Joshua, “said Hearn. “Watch what you want because it’s not what you are used to. Respect for taking up the challenge, and we’ll see if it disappears.”
Jake knows what he sees. AJ is thoroughly washed at the moment, his chin disappeared, and the only thing he left is his power. But this is not enough to count on defeating Paweł, because, unless it lands early, it ends up knocking out, as in his last fight with Daniel Dubois. There was nothing left of Joshua who changed the professional in 2013. I know that it is complex to accept Hearn, but this is the reality. AJ’s resistance has disappeared and barely sticks to what is left of his career.
“The biggest fight” in boxing
“Probably in terms of number,” said Hearn, responding to the saying that Frank Smith said Joshua vs. Paul is bigger than Joshua vs. Tyson Fury. “Of course, for boxing, AJ-Fury is the only one, but I understand that this is probably the biggest fight in boxing,” said Hearn about Joshua vs. Paul.
Joshua-Paul will probably not only do a better number than Joshua vs. Fury, but also Canelo Alvarez vs. Terenca Crawford. Jake Paul has a larger public profile and social media than Canelo, which means that he can advertise directly with 28 million watching on Instagram and 20.9 million YouTube subscribers. Alvarez does not have such a range and, of course, Crawford is not in the same galaxy as Paul. Compared to the fighter in the margins.
“I won’t tell you that this is a fight for a fight. This means that Jake Paul will leave this sport forever. Because I don’t think he ever returned to the ring after Anthony Joshu’s chin stays, “said Hearn. “There are many people who would like to see it.”
Jake Paul’s financial force
Hearn seems to be determined that for some reason Jake Paul leaves this sport. I wonder why there is so much hostility towards him when he does a great favor, giving him a fight so delayed in his career. It is not that Joshua has other options at the moment to get a giant payment day. The only other fight that he could potentially win, which she would pay well, is Tyson Fury, but he does not come back to face him. As such, Jake is the only fight for Joshua.
“People tell me:” What does Anthony get out of it? “He runs in one of the greatest events of all time.
Eddie did not say what Joshua will do if he loses the fight with Jake Paul. Will we say goodbye to AJ? It is demanding to imagine how he fights if he is knocked out by Paul in a similar way as in his last fight with Daniel Dubois. It seems to me that they could have a rematch of Joshua vs. Paul, who would earn a lot of money. But to do this, Hearn could cook good excuses to explain why AJ lost.
Rocky Marciano against Mike Tyson would match relentless pressure against explosive speed. Both heavyweight champions could end a fight with one punch, but the deciding factor might be whether Marciano could survive Tyson’s early attacks and force him into a longer fight.
The comparison should involve both men at their best. Tyson’s late-career defeats tell us little about how the fighter who demolished Michael Spinks would have handled Marciano.
Tyson would have the advantages in hand speed and weight. Although similar in height, he generally fought substantially heavier than Marciano. His quick combinations to the body and head would present an immediate threat to a fighter who needed to get close to do his best work.
Marciano retired at 49-0 with 43 knockouts and six successful heavyweight title defenses. His unbeaten record did not mean he avoided trouble. Jersey Joe Walcott dropped him in the opening round and led on the scorecards before Marciano knocked him out in the 13th.
Against Ezzard Charles in their rematch, Marciano fought through a severe nose injury to secure an eighth-round knockout. Those victories demonstrated his ability to remain dangerous when a fight was going against him.
Tyson’s first championship reign showed how quickly he could take control. He stopped Trevor Berbick in two rounds to win the WBC title and later knocked out Pinklon Thomas, Tyrell Biggs, Larry Holmes, Tony Tubbs and Spinks. James “Bonecrusher” Smith and Tony Tucker took him the distance, with Tyson winning both fights on points.
Against Marciano, Tyson’s uppercuts would be particularly dangerous. Rocky often advanced from a low crouch, bringing him into range of short punches as he worked his way inside. Tyson could also attack the body before bringing his hooks upstairs.
Marciano’s answer would be to keep punching and deny Tyson comfortable breaks. He attacked the chest, shoulders, and arms when an opponent’s head was protected. Those punches could contribute to wearing Tyson down, although they would leave Marciano close enough to be countered.
Tyson’s peek-a-boo style was more than a stationary high guard. At his best, he used head movement and quick changes of angle to create openings. Marciano would have to deal with that movement before he could establish his own attack.
A longer fight would give Marciano more opportunities. His conditioning and sustained output were major strengths, particularly over 15 rounds. If he could survive the early combinations and continue forcing Tyson to work, his chances would improve.
That does not make an early Tyson knockout inevitable or a late Marciano victory automatic. Marciano could be dropped, while Tyson could win over the distance, as his victories over Smith and Tucker demonstrated.
Tyson would have the stronger chance of an early stoppage because of his speed, combinations, and greater size. Marciano’s best route would be to withstand that opening assault and turn the contest into a prolonged, punishing fight.
Would Tyson’s speed settle it early, or could Marciano survive and wear him down?
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About the author
Ken Hissner
Ken Hissner is a senior boxing journalist at Boxing News 24 with more than 20 years of experience covering the sport. Known for his ringside reporting, detailed results, and historical perspective, he delivers authoritative coverage of boxing across eras.
In what will be his first title defense, the WBC super-lightweight world champion Dalton Smith will defend his title against the number one-ranked contender Alberto Puello.
Smith plans on having a successful homecoming while Puello wants to play the role of spoiler, as he looks to become a two-time world champion. The action is set to take place at Utilita Arena in Sheffield, England, live on DAZN.
The most notable victory on Alberto Puello’s record occurred in June 2024 when he outboxed Gary Antuanne Russell and won the vacant WBC Interim title. A short time later, Puello was elevated from Interim to full world champion.
Puello had one successful title defense, and then he lost his title to Subriel Matias. Now the Dominican boxer Alberto “La Avispa” Puello (25-1,11KOs) is ready to reclaim his WBC belt. Back in January 2026, the British boxer Dalton Smith experienced his crowning moment.
During the course of four rounds, Smith stood inside the pocket and went toe-to-toe with Subriel Matias.
With 55 seconds left to go in the 5th round, Smith landed a hard overhand right that wobbled Matias. Seconds later, Smith connected with another overhand right that sent Matias down to the canvas.
A dazed Matias was able to stand up, but after witnessing him stumble, the referee stepped in and put a halt to the contest. With the victory, Smith won his first world title.
Now Dalton “Thunder” Smith (19-0, 14 KOs) plans to entertain his home fans while successfully defending his WBC belt. He faces a difficult task as the challenger is a very proficient opponent.
The southpaw Alberto Puello is a skilled technical counterpuncher who has a solid jab, he routinely utilizes lateral movement, he has good ring generalship, and a sharp straight left hand.
Dalton Smith is an aggressive boxer-puncher who has a high boxing IQ, good footwork, is an expert at controlling distance, is accurate, has good timing, and punching power.
Alberto Puello believes he’s well prepared for this fight, and on Saturday night he’s going to take back what belongs to him. Dalton Smith also feels he’s ready, and he’s going into this title bout in a particular mindset.
“I have prepared for this like I’m the challenger, and on Saturday night I will prove to the boxing world why I am No.1. I am cool, calm, collected, and I will do it again on Saturday,” Smith stated.
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Vince DWriter
Sports/Entertainment Writer . Born and raised in New Orleans. Attended college at THE PURDUE UNIVERSITY
Remember when people thought Emanuel Navarrete was on his way down or even out? “Vaquero” had joked about eating Twinkies during training. He drew with Robson Conceicao. He lost to Denys Berinchyk. He got a nutritionist.
In his last three fights, Navarrete has dominated Oscar Valdez (again), had a tough one and some controversy in a no-contest with Charly Suarez, and dominated and stopped Eduardo “Sugar” Nunez. He’s looked like he’s back to peak form Emanuel Navarrete, and peak form Emanuel Navarrete is a problem.
The “Twinkies” stuff is in the past, though like many things, it will probably hang around him forever in fight build-ups. The version of Navarrete we saw against Nunez is one of the sport’s better fighters.
But he is beatable. We’ve seen it. And it wasn’t long ago. The Suarez fight was another reminder that he’s far from flawless. If Navarrete has a tough opponent, it will be a tough fight, as fights with tough opponents ought to be.
Foster is one of my favorite boxing stories of recent years, a good-but-not-great prospect in the mid-2010s who suffered a couple of losses on ShoBox in eight-rounders and looked like maybe the bubble had burst on him. He might fight on, but we wouldn’t hear much. Maybe he’d return to ShoBox in the B-side role sometime. Instead, he reset his career, got better, moved down to 130, and in 2023, won his first world title, seven years after his second loss, battling back from square one to do it.
O’Shaquie is 15-1 since his two losses in 2015-16. His only loss since came to Robson Conceicao, who has been tough as hell for anyone at 130/135 other than Shakur Stevenson and Raymond Muratalla, and the latter might have had more to do with the fact that Conceicao was 37 by then. Foster also avenged his loss to Conceicao and comes into this one, as Navarrete does, in fine form in his most recent outings, beating Stephen Fulton and Raymond Ford.
We’ve got a good fight on our hands with two guys who have looked good in their recent fights and, at 31 (Navarrete) and 33 (Foster), still look to be right in their prime years.
Navarrete vs Foster: Style Matchup
A disclaimer in the interest of transparency: I find “Vaquero” fascinating and almost certainly had my mind made up before I booted up the tape.
A lot’s been made of how Navarrete “gets away” with fighting “wrong” thanks to his motor, power, durability, and freakish proportions. His last time out against “Sugar” Nunez, the commentators quipped that nobody in their right mind would train someone to fight that way. These people are, to be blunt, wrong as hell; he’s an excellent case study in maximizing one’s natural gifts and doesn’t get nearly enough credit for his craft. Watch the Nunez fight and take note of how well he controls distance, how often he’s just a hair too far away for Nunez’s counters, the way he threads punches between Nunez’s volleys, the exploitation of his dramatic step-ins to get Nunez biting on feints, the genuinely solid defensive movement and arm placement that follow his lunges. Crude as a lot of his punches are and as…let’s say “improvisational” his footwork is, there’s a system there. Yes, he does stupid shit, but he does it smartly.
This puts him in delightful contrast with Foster, who’s among the most textbook sweet scientists in the game. A human highlight reel he is not, but after our last few prediction pieces, do you know how refreshing it is to see someone who keeps his off hand up when jabbing and generally avoids smothering his work?
What makes this such a fun matchup is their near-identical physical dimensions. Both of them are used to operating at distances where their opponents can’t retaliate, and the one who’s best able to adjust to this new environment will come out on top.
That looks, to me, like Navarrete. Foster’s only real weakness is a lack of head movement, but it’s a big one in this matchup. Navarrete has excellent timing and shot selection to catch opponents on the way in and can put on some murderous pressure when the fancy strikes. If Foster hits the ropes or tries to chase, it’ll go sideways fast.
Conversely, Foster isn’t particularly well-equipped to exploit Navarrete’s own weaknesses. For as much as Navarrete overextends, he’s generally good about only throwing truly ugly stuff when it’s hard to punish and Foster lacks the power to capitalize on those opportunities. On a similar note, Navarrete can be too content to chill in a collapsed pocket, but was still nasty enough to outgun Nunez at the latter’s preferred range. Don’t see that working overly well for Foster, either.
But let’s say Foster does force the fight he wants, a cagey fencing match. It’s more than feasible, as he’s got much better feet than Navarrete and his punches get to the target faster. That’s where the real kicker comes in: pace. Foster’s preferred output is “just enough,” which has led to truly putrid sparring matches in the past. Navarrete can throw 70 punches a round for 36 minutes, is too durable to deter, and is more adaptable than his reputation would have you believe.
It’s a hell of a needle Foster has to thread. I don’t think he can.
Navarrete vs Foster: Predictions!
Scott: Big fan of both these guys. I think the smart money is probably with Navarrete, but I’m going with O’Shaquie in a tight, controversially-scored fight. I wouldn’t advise betting that way, but I think he’ll edge this one out, I expect him to be as up for this one as he’s ever been for any fight, this is really the biggest fight of his career. What I’m most looking forward to seeing is what range dominates the fight, and who imposes their will best in that sense. O’Shaquie Foster by Split Decision
Patrick: Historically, the best way to deal with Emanuel Navarrete is to hope he didn’t train and wait for him to peter out. With his shiny new nutritionist in his corner, that avenue may be closed forever; he shrugged off some nasty body work from Nunez and was still clobbering him with abandon as the championship rounds approached.
Foster is an extremely capable fighter, unquestionably the other best man at 130. If it’s possible to defuse a dialed-in Navarrete with pure fundamentals, Foster’s the guy to do it. I just think his own shortcomings, namely the stationary head and tendency to fall into lulls, play too much into Navarrete’s strengths for me to put my faith in him. Belt number three for the cowboy. Emanuel Navarrete by Unanimous Decision
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