Eddie Hearn issues chilling Anthony Joshua warning to Jake Paul after providing surprise update on fight
Stunning talks for former two-time unified heavyweight king Joshua to trade heavy leather with Paul began late last month.
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YouTuber-turned-boxer Paul and his team are confident of booking the fight and pulling off what would be one of the biggest upsets in boxing history.
But long-time AJ promoter Hearn believes there is only one outcome if the fight does come to fruition.
Hearn took to his Instagram story on Tuesday to post a video of Joshua's brutal second-round KO of former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou last March.
His accompanying caption read: "Be careful what you wish/ask for."
Hearn's stark warning to Paul, whom he sued after the former Disney star accused him of paying off a judge, came after he delivered an update on negotiations.
He told The Ring Magazine: "This is very real.
"I had a good chat for about an hour with Nakisa on [July 30] and now I believe they want the fight. I really do.
'Nakisa was very honest and he's concerned about the fight, but Jake truly believes he can win the fight or at least be competitive in it.
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'And now, because of the size of the fight, it leads me to believe there's a very good chance it could happen.
"If I had to rate that chance I would say it's 50:50.
Former world champ fears for Jake Paul's health amid Anthony Joshua fight talks
"It was a very positive conversation and we expect that conversation to extend over the coming weeks.
'If they really want it, it will happen.'
He added: "It's a mismatch in my opinion, it's dangerous in my opinion.
"But this is a guy, a cruiserweight who will be a heavyweight.
'I think Joshua is probably yet to get his head round it until he knows that it's a possibility.
"After my call this week, I'd say it's definitely a possibility.
Be careful what you wish/ask for."
Eddie Hearn's warning to Jake Paul
'AJ understands the commercial world and will look at this and see that it's huge.
"It would probably be the biggest fight that could ever happen anywhere.
"It would be right up there with his biggest purses ever.
"You can talk about the boxing world but this would be the outer world."
Joshua, 35, hasn't set foot inside the ring since his brutal fifth-round KO loss to Daniel Dubois at Wembley last September.
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