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Jake Paul will make his return to the boxing ring on December 19 in Miami when he takes on former champion Anthony Joshua. The fight came about after Gervonta Davis was forced to withdraw following a lawsuit by a woman who claims Davis physically assaulted her.
Following the lawsuit’s public filing, Jake Paul’s MVP Promotions sought to reassure his fans that the boxer would still “headline an event on Netflix in 2025.” Two weeks later, they announced the fight against Anthony Joshua.
While talks between Anthony Joshua and Jake Paul were reportedly happening as far back as July 2025, when the Gervonta Davis fight was cancelled, Paul had no idea who would take his place. Apparently, at least according to Most Valuable Promotions CEO Nakisa Bidarian, Jake had a long list of fighters to choose from.
“As soon as we knew we were going to move away from Gervonta Davis, we had a list of opponents,” Bidarian told TMZ this week. “And the three names Jake gravitated towards were Ryan Garcia, Terence Crawford, and Anthony Joshua. And there were probably 30 fighters who accepted to fight Jake. AJ being one of them, Crawford being another, and AJ is the one that we came to an agreement on.”
Terence Crawford being named as a potential opponent seems a little dubious. Especially considering he just went 12 rounds with Canelo Alvarez in September, and they wanted to fight on December 19.
Anthony Joshua is a better matchup for Jake Paul?
As for Jake Paul fighting Anthony Joshua, a 36-year-old two-time heavyweight champion and Olympic gold medalist, Nakisa Bidarian is spinning it as him being a better matchup for his fighter than Gervonta Davis.
“It’s a dangerous fight for Jake, but it’s a more winnable fight for Jake than Gervonta Davis,” he said. “And I say that in terms of, yes, Tank is a much smaller man, but he’s quick, he’s fast, he’s precise, he’s super skilled, and he had knockout power.
“AJ is big, strong, and has knockout power, but he’s definitely slower than Tank. He’s definitely less skilled than Tank. And so, it will give Jake, the boxer, who’s been in the sport a lot less than Joshua, the opportunity to display a better skill set than he would have against Tank from my perspective.”
It certainly helps that the fight will be eight three-minute rounds and both fighters will wear 10-ounce gloves. There is also a weight stipulation stating that Joshua cannot weigh more than 245 pounds.