Jake Paul's manager provides major update on Anthony Joshua fight

Jake Paul’s manager, Nakisa Bidarian, has revealed that talks of a fight with former heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua are indeed underway with Matchroom, international media reported on Thursday.

Joshua, who is plotting his comeback to the ring, has not fought since his defeat to Daniel Dubois at Wembley Stadium in September 2024, where he sustained injuries.

The former world heavyweight champion was planning to make a return in the summer, but his elbow injury delayed his plans.

Before the Dubois loss, ‘AJ’ was flying with knockout wins over Otto Wallin, Robert Helenius and Francis Ngannou, and is now hoping to regain the previous form.

Anthony Joshua has been linked with the likes of YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul and Deontay Wilder, while he wants a fight with his countryman, Tyson Fury, which he has talked about several times.

However, Fury wants a trilogy with Oleksandr Usyk, so ‘AJ’ has to shift his focus towards the Paul fight.

Joshua and Paul have both spoken about the showdown for the last few weeks, and now Paul’s manager, Bidarian, has also stated that the talks are underway and claimed that a fight can happen.

“I think the fight can absolutely happen. It could be an very interesting match-up and we’re activitely discussing it with Matchroom,” Bidarian said.

“I think we’re looking at it happening in Q1 of 2026. That’s the current discussion. I think it’s public that AJ was taking some time away, he had a little surgery, once he’s ready, and once Jake is ready, we’re going to squarely focus on that.

“Ultimately it’s not a fight that I want Jake to do, it’s a fight that Jake wants to do. 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.”

Talking about the location of the fight, Bidarian also mentioned some possible options.

“We’re looking at multiple options. Wembley is definitely a possibility. Jake has said he’d like to do it there. He likes the idea of going in and hearing 90,000 people booing him. He feeds off that. We’re looking at the US, Saudi Arabia is also an option, the Middle East is an option as a whole, but we want to do it in the most impactful way possible,” Bidarian concluded.