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Hearn open to Joshua vs. Jake Paul Runout for massive money

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Image: Eddie Hearn Discusses Anthony Joshua's Potential Retirement and Future in Boxing

Promoter Eddie Hearn says he is in talks with Jake Paul’s advisor and Most Valuable Promotions (MVP) co-founder Nakisa Bidarian about setting up a fight with Anthony Joshua.

Hearn says if AJ is going to have a “good fight,” he considers a fight with Jake Paul a good option for “a lot of money.” This makes financial sense as Paul’s interest would be significant thanks to Paul’s huge social media following and his marketing skills.

Hearn wants to get rid of former two-time heavyweight champion Joshua (28-4, 25 KO) before the end of 2025 to prepare him for a world title fight in 2026 or the long-awaited fight with Tyson Fury.

Jake Paul’s popularity

  • YouTube: 20.9 million subscribers
  • Instagram: 28.7 million followers
  • X (Twitter): 4.6 million followers
  • TikTok: 18.5 million followers

This could backfire on Hearn as 28-year-old Jake is younger than 36-year-old Joshua and has world-class right-hand punching power. If he detonates one of his shots to AJ’s chin, he will ruin his dreams of fighting Fury or winning the world title again once and for all.

Hearn confirms the talks

“There were a few conversations between me and Nikisa. I think Jake and AJ talked as well,” said promoter Eddie Hearn. Boxing in the match room about his interest in organizing the next fight between Anthony Joshua and Jake Paul. “From our point of view, if we are to finish the fight, why not fight Jake Paul for a lot of money?”

Logically, the shrewd move for Joshua and Hearn is to fight Jake Paul in December, using him as a reinforcement and making a ton of money in the process.

Hearn has already said that the idea is to select the person for allocation on a card basis. However, the fight between Joshua and Paul will not be a typical undercard match. Fan interest will be too great to keep this fight on the undercard.

“So the talks are ongoing. I can’t say they’re close. I can’t say we’ve seen a contract,” Hearn said of the Joshua vs. Paul negotiations. “But if he really wants to fight Anthony, I don’t see why he shouldn’t have a chance to fight that fight.”

“Our attention is focused on the charge for the world heavyweight championship and the charge on Tyson Fury. We have no influence on that either. Absolutely anything is possible at the moment,” Hearn said.

Matchroom doesn’t have much time to negotiate the fight between Joshua and Paul. With December only a month away, Hearn would need to quickly come to an agreement between the two to make the megafight take place in December.

Jake Paul Knockout Threat

This is a fight that could prove to be a disaster for Joshua, as he is coming off a devastating fifth-round knockout against Daniel Dubois on September 21, 2024, and by the time he faces Paul in December 2025, he will be out of the ring for 15 months. What’s more, Joshua is 36 years vintage and has already put a lot of miles on the clock in his 12-year professional career.

A loss to Jake Paul will likely cause Joshua to retire. At this point, there would be no reason for him to continue fighting. Now he’s just hanging around hoping to fight Fury and win another world title.

Last August, Bidarian made it clear that the fight between Joshua and Jake Paul was all about “hit and go.” This could be the time to do just that, provided they can broker a deal quickly enough to force their way into the fray before the end of the year.

Last update: 11/07/2025

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Derek Chisora Urges Moses Itauma to Battle KO Artist Heavyweight in Comeback

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"Derek Chisora Urges Moses Itauma to Battle KO Artist Heavyweight in Comeback"

Derek Chisora has named a heavyweight who he feels is the most appropriate comeback opponent for Moses Itauma to face in January.

According to promoter Frank Warren, the 21-year-old will return to action in the new year following his dramatic ninth-round stoppage defeat to Filip Hrgovic.

The pair squared off in August, with Itauma attempting to become the youngest world heavyweight champion since Mike Tyson dethroned Trevor Berbick in 1986.

After scoring an early knockdown and dominating the first eight rounds, however, the previously unbeaten prodigy was stopped on his feet and Hrgovic, instead, became the IBF champion.

As a result, the Croatian is expected to return to his home city of Zagreb and make a mandatory title defence against Frank Sanchez.

Itauma, meanwhile, could end up fighting in the same month of January, most likely against an opponent who is designed to rebuild his confidence.

Chisora, though, is keen for the southpaw to jump back into another 12-rounder, albeit while admitting that someone like Martin Bakole would be too great of a risk.

Instead, the heavyweight veteran has told media members, including Fight Hub TVthat British operators Frazer Clarke and Richard Riakporhe would make for suitable opponents.

“I wouldn’t put him in with Bakole yet. I think Frazer Clarke [could be an option]. [Or] he should fight Richard Riakporhe. That’s a good fight.”

Riakporhe, who has 16 knockouts from 20 wins, became the British heavyweight champion by dethroning Jeamie TKV with a fifth-round finish in April, while Clarke suffered a majority decision defeat to Justis Huni on the same card.

As for Bakole, the Congolese giant has not fought since his controversial draw with Efe Ajagba in May 2025.

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Tyson Fury Analyzes Daniel Dubois Knockout Victory Against Fabio Wardley

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"Tyson Fury Analyzes Daniel Dubois' Knockout Victory Against Fabio Wardley"

Tyson Fury has given his immediate reaction to Daniel Dubois’ second-round finish over Fabio Wardley, believing the ruthless display can offer a foreshadowing of his own performance against Anthony Joshua.

Back in May, the two heavyweights engaged in a far more gruelling affair, with Dubois surviving two early knockdowns before orchestrating an 11th-round stoppage.

Towards the end of their encounter, things had become particularly one-sided and, because of that, Dubois was made a sizable favourite ahead of their rematch yesterday evening.

Yet still, some may have found it surprising that, this time around, it was he who scored a knockdown within the first 20 seconds after landing a sledgehammer right hand.

Quite remarkably, Wardley managed to climb back to his feet but, immediately, it became obvious that turning things around would be an almost impossible task.

And despite the 31-year-old’s best efforts, he was ultimately relieved of further punishment by trainer Ben Davison, who threw in the towel following a second-round onslaught from Dubois.

Taking to social media, Fury applauded the 29-year-old for retaining his WBO world title in such emphatic fashion while, at the same time, sending a warning to his next opponent.

“It was a very exciting heavyweight fight there between Dubois and Wardley – fair play to both guys. Well done to Daniel for retaining his belt with a good knockout – that’s how you get ‘em out of there, big Dan. And that’s exactly what’s gonna happen to AJ … spark out.”

With Fury predicting an early finish against Joshua on December 11, it will be interesting to see whether he delivers on his word at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium.

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Sebastian Fundora Wins by Late Stoppage Against Ermal Hadribeaj

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"Sebastian Fundora Wins by Late Stoppage Against Ermal Hadribeaj"

Sebastian Fundora needed almost every second of 12 rounds to stop Ermal Hadribeaj, finishing his stubborn challenger with a left hand after spending much of the fight battling him at close range.

The stoppage came at 2:59 of the final round at The Chelsea at the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. Fundora (25-1-1, 17 KOs) retained his WBC junior middleweight title for the fourth time, while Hadribeaj (23-1-1, 8 KOs) suffered his first professional defeat.

This was hard work for a champion who entered as a heavy favorite. Hadribeaj got underneath Fundora’s long arms, crowded him, and landed hard punches, making the early rounds competitive. Fundora followed him too often without creating the space needed to make his reach effective.

A long left briefly buzzed Hadribeaj in the second, but it didn’t persuade him to stay outside. He recovered and went straight back to forcing the fight inside.

Holding became a recurring feature. Referee Thomas Taylor deducted a point from Hadribeaj in the third round, then took another in the 11th as the challenger increasingly tried to prevent Fundora from working.

Between those penalties, Hadribeaj gave the champion plenty to handle. His harder individual shots competed with Fundora’s greater activity, and he continued coming forward even as the body punches accumulated.

Fundora eventually made that close-range fight work for him. Short punches and uppercuts gave him scoring opportunities, while his sustained attack downstairs made Hadribeaj pay for staying within reach.

The later rounds belonged more clearly to the champion. Hadribeaj could still land, but he was being outworked, and his attempts to crowd Fundora increasingly ended in holding rather than effective offense.

Fundora kept punching through the final round before landing the left hand that dropped and stopped Hadribeaj just before the bell. The finish rewarded his persistence, although the difficult early rounds showed how little he had done to keep the challenger at a distance.

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Boxing247.com is an independent boxing news publication covering the sport since 2001. It provides original reporting, fight analysis, schedules, results, and informed coverage of major fighters and events worldwide, backed by more than 25 years of professional boxing journalism.

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