‘We're actively discussing it' – Jake Paul's team CONFIRM Anthony Joshua fight talks and reveal potential date and venue
YouTuber-turned-boxer Paul audaciously called out two-time heavyweight champ AJ earlier in the year.
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It sparked a back-and-forth exchange between the two behind-the-scenes - paving the way for genuine talks between the two camps.
Joshua's promoter Eddie Hearn confirmed they are interested with Paul's promotional partner Nakisa Bidarian also open for talks.
And with Saudi boxing supremo Turki Alalshikh also on board - the shock fight could become a reality.
Bidarian told Sky Sports: "I think the fight can absolutely happen.
"I'm looking at it as Jake versus Joshua, which is quite biblical, and it's quite impactful in many ways.
"I think size wise, we can get comfortable with it, and I think experience wise, Jake is learning very fast and growing, and Joshua is a little long in the tooth.
"So it could be a very interesting matchup, and we're actively discussing it with Matchroom."
Paul, 28, is coming off a ten-round points victory in June against former middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr, 39.
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Meanwhile Joshua, 35, is yet to return since being knocked out by Daniel Dubois, 27, in September.
He has since undergone elbow surgery - with the plan to return before 2025 is over as Paul's camp eye the mega-bout next year.
Bidarian said: "I think we're looking at it happening at the start of 2026.
"It's public that AJ was taking a little time away, I think he had a little surgery.
"So once he's ready, and once Jake is ready, we're going to squarely focus on that.
"It's a fight that Jake wants to do, and that's a discussion we've had at length, and he feels very confident about where he is in his career and his chances of upsetting Anthony Joshua."
Paul wants the fight at Wembley Stadium - but America and Saudi Arabia are also other potential hosts.
Bidarian revealed: "We're looking at multiple options. Wembley's definitely a possibility. Jake said he'd like to do it there.
"He likes the idea of going in and hearing 90,000 people booing him! He kind of feeds off that.
"But we're looking at the US, obviously Saudi Arabia is an option, the Middle East is an option as a whole.
"We want to do it in the most impactful way possible."
Paul made his heavyweight debut last November - when Mike Tyson returned aged 58 after 20 YEARS away from the ring.
He put on two stone to 16st 2lb (227lb) but admitted he struggled to even run before dropping back down to the 14st 4lb cruiserweight limit.
But Joshua was 18 stone against Dubois - which is a whopping FOUR STONE heavier than Paul.
AJ brutally knocked out MMA star Francis Ngannou, 38, in 2024 in what was only the ex-UFC champ's second boxing bout.
Bidarian said: "Power is obviously the last thing to go.
"So obviously, AJ has a ton of power, and he's still fairly young. Mike Tyson - much more vicious of a knockout artist than Anthony Joshua - that was a risk Jake was willing to take.
"Francis Ngannou, amazing MMA fighter, very powerful man, but not an experienced boxer, right? He is a lot less experienced than Jake Paul.
"So if people were comfortable with Francis getting in there with AJ, Jake, who is now 13 fights in, plus one amateur fight, then we are comfortable with this."
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