Jake Paul is hoping to hijack Anthony Joshua’s long-awaited showdown with Tyson Fury.
Saudi powerbroker Turki Alalshikh is said to be working hard behind the scenes to finally get the British heavyweight titans in the ring together next September.
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Paul wants to fight Fury if he can overcome Joshua on December 19Credit: Getty
However, Joshua will have to get through Paul on December 19 first.
At their launch press conference on Friday, ‘The Problem Child’ vowed to knock out AJ before declaring that his next target will be fellow countryman, Fury.
“It’s a massive mistake to look past me,” said Paul.
“I’m putting a stop to all those plans – don’t book flights or hotels.
“I’m knocking this guy out, becoming the CEO of Matchroom Boxing, changing the plans, and it’s going to be me against Tyson Fury next year.
“Look what happened the last time they came to America and the plans they had.
“Andy Ruiz stopped that. This is Andy Ruiz 2.0.”
Anthony Joshua’s 2026 plans
When it comes to Joshua’s future plans, an autumn showdown with Fury isn’t the only date in his calendar.
The Watford powerhouse’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, has also earmarked a quick turnaround in February.
The Matchroom Boxing chief is currently fielding offers from Ghana and Nigeria to host a big African fight night, while Alalshikh is hoping to entice the Brit back over to Saudi Arabia in early 2026.
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Here’s how Joshua and Paul measure upCredit: Getty/talkSPORT
“I am talking now with Eddie, we have two big events next year here in London, it will be a surprise,” Alalshikh told the DAZN broadcast before Conor Benn overcame Chris Eubank Jr last weekend.
“We will have Joshua in our country in February, then there is the big fight, one of the greatest fights in the history of boxing, it will be in London here maybe in September.
“I will not give you the answer, but we will have in April [a fight] in Tottenham, big fights, then in September we will have a big surprise for the fans in England.”
Anthony Joshua vs Tyson Fury, the story so far…
Boxing fans have been clamouring to see Joshua vs Fury for the best part of six years.
The closest they came to fighting each other was back in 2021 when both men held all four heavyweight titles between them.
Both men signed a two-fight deal, with the first bout pencilled in for August 14, 2021, in Saudi Arabia.
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Joshua has other fights cautiously pencilled in for February and SeptemberCredit: Getty
However, an arbitration judge ruled that Deontay Wilder was due a third fight with Fury, resulting in the domestic dust-up collapsing.
Since then, numerous attempts to get the bout over the line have fallen by the wayside, but Hearn believes Alalshikh is the man to deliver the goods.
He said: “Listen we have all got excited about that fight for many years, I believe this is the man to make it happen, everything we do with Anthony Joshua, we do with Turki Alalshikh, we have been sitting down this week, we have a lot of plans for Anthony Joshua’s future, he wants to regain the world heavyweight championship, he wants to of course to fight Tyson Fury.
“Let the man do his work, I will keep quiet because I have got a big mouth, and hopefully we can see the fight that everybody in here wants to see.”