Jake Paul wants the “challenge” of fighting Anthony Joshua.
The YouTuber-turned-boxer defeated former middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr by unanimous decision on Saturday night (28.06.25), and Jake is now looking to face Joshua, a London 2012 gold medallist and the former heavyweight world champion.
Speaking at his post-fight press conference, Jake said: “I’m definitely not a heavyweight, but I’m still gonna take the challenge. You look at Deontay Wilder; he was beating these guys weighing 215 pounds, he’s like 6ft 6in or something, but anything is possible.
“Anthony Joshua is an insane fight, but I want that challenge.”
Jake and Joshua have already discussed the possibility of fighting each other in 2026.
Jake said: “We’ve been DM-ing back and forth. He wants to make it happen. He called me up and it’s looking very likely for next year.”
Despite this, Chavez Jr has rubbished the idea that Jake could beat Joshua or any other world champion.
He said post-fight: “He’s strong, a good boxer [for] the first three, four rounds. After that, I felt he was tired. I don’t think he’s ready for the champions, but he’s a good fighter.”
Meanwhile, Jake recently hit back at his critics, insisting that he’s already fought lots of credible opponents in his boxing career.
The 28-year-old star accused his critics of “idiotic low-level thinking”.
The former Bizaardvark star – who defeated former world champion Mike Tyson back in November – told Extra: “I love this criticism because it just shows how daft people are. It’s like, on one hand they’ll call Anderson Silva one of the greatest fighters of all time, and then they’ll say these things and completely discredit Anderson Silva, discredit Tyron Woodley, a multiple-time UFC champion. You know, the list goes on and on with prominent names that I’ve beat.
“Mike Perry, they called the kind of violence, he was in his prime, bare-knuckle God, said he was gonna starch me — knocked him out.
“It again shows the stupidity of people and that they’ll think one thing going into a fight and then when I prove them wrong, they just fall back on their regular idiotic low-level thinking ways.”

British-Nigerian boxing star Anthony Joshua has issued a warning to American YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul following a taunt about his previous knockout defeats, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.

Paul, 28, revealed in a recent interview with The Sun that he and the former two-time heavyweight champion had been exchanging private messages earlier this year, during which he mocked Joshua over his knockout losses. However, the trolling prompted a stern response from the 35-year-old.

According to Paul, the last message he received from Joshua carried a clear and menacing tone.

“He said, ‘I can’t wait to fight. You’re gonna be fighting for your life and you’ll know the feeling that I’ve gone through.’ Or something like that,” Paul told SunSport, admitting it was the last time he heard from Joshua.

The brewing tension has fuelled speculation about a possible future clash between both men, with Paul expressing his desire to face Joshua in front of a hostile British crowd.

“My first fight was in front of an English crowd and it’s rowdy,” Paul said.

“I love walking into the lions’ den and so me versus Anthony Joshua, 100,000 people chanting ‘f*** Jake Paul’ would be pretty fun for me.”

Jake Paul has revealed that two-time heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua is at the top of his boxing hit-list and believes a showdown between the pair will take place next year.

The social media star turned professional boxer kept his world title dreams alive with a routine success over former WBC middleweight king Julio Cesar Chavez Jr in California overnight.

Despite promising to end the American’s career, Chavez Jr struggled to gain any real foothold on proceedings, astonishingly landing just three punches during the opening nine minutes of action.

His refusal to engage with Paul culminated in a straightforward unanimous points success for the 28-year-old, who wasted no time in sounding out potential opponents in the immediate aftermath of his victory.

WBC cruiserweight supremo Badou Jack was one of several fighters mentioned by Paul as he reeled off his wish list on the back of a 12th professional career win, but it was Joshua’s whose name appeared to excite him the most.

“Give me any of them, they can all have it,” he told the media.

Anthony Joshua is an insane fight, but I want that challenge – I’m definitely not a heavyweight, but I’m still gonna take the challenge!

– Jake Paul (DAZN)

“You look at Deontay Wilder; he was beating these guys weighing just 215 pounds… Joshua is like 6ft 6ins or something, but anything is possible.

“We’ve been DM-ing (messaging) back and forth. He wants to make it happen. He called me up and it’s looking very likely for next year.”

Paul’s comprehensive win over Chavez Jr was clear to see in the damning post-fight punch statistics.

The 39-year-old Mexican, who has been advised to retire by his famed fighting father Julio Cesar Chavez Sr, landed less than half the number of punches of his opponent.

Incredibly, he failed to lay a single glove on the Cleveland native in the first round, and ended the showdown with just 61 shots hitting the desired target – a statistic which has irked ‘The Problem Child’s’ brother, Logan Paul.

“I feel great. I think he did so well,” the WWE star told DAZN.

“It’s really hard to fight a guy who like doesn’t want to fight and it’s annoying for the fans as well.

“We were halfway through the fight and the dude had thrown like 20 punches so it’s hard but it is what it is – I thought he boxed great.

“Jake has gone out there and comprehensively beaten a former world champion, so who knows what is next! He’s happy to get the win and excited to get the next guy.”

Jake Paul says he’s finally going to fight the kind of opponent his critics want to see him face. Next year.

On Saturday, Paul added another win to his boxing résumé, taking a unanimous decision over former WBC middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. in their cruiserweight fight in Anaheim, Calif. It was another underwhelming performance from Paul, who was visibly larger than the 39-year-old Chavez, and only continued the criticism Paul has faced for hand-picking undersized and past-their-prime opponents. But for Paul, this win was a pivotal moment in his career: a turning point for him towards a more serious boxing run.

“I don’t even think I was a fighter then,” Paul said in his post-fight press conference when asked about his loss to Tommy Fury in comparison to his performance on Saturday. “That was two years, two-and-a-half years into the sport, and I didn’t know what I was doing. I didn’t have the right team around me, the proper team around me, the proper conditioning. My lifestyle outside of the ring was still like a YouTube, celebrity, actor, whatever I was at the time. I wasn’t fully focused on boxing.

Jake Paul says former champion Anthony Joshua wants to fight him next year

Not long after the sweat had dried following Jake Paul’s victory over Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., he disclosed he’s in talks to fight another former champion: Anthony Joshua, who held the unified heavyweight belts in 2016 and 2021.

“Anthony Joshua is an insane fight, but I want that challenge,” Paul said at a post-fight news conference Saturday, June 28. “We’ve been DM’ing back and forth. He wants to make it happen. He called me up and it’s looking very likely for next year.”

In his last fight, Joshua (28-4, 25 KOs) suffered a devastating fifth-round knockout loss to Daniel Dubois. But at 6-6, he would have a five-inch height advantage over Paul (12-1, 7 KOs) along with significantly more experience.

“I like the challenge,” Paul said. “That’s the criticism, people will say, ‘Fight someone in their prime who’s a beast.’ I think people just really want to see me lose. That’s really what the message is behind it all.”

Jake Paul lists other options for next fight

Even though Paul’s negotiations with Canelo Alvarez unraveled in February, he said a fight between the two still could materialize.

“No, he’s not out of the picture,” said Paul, who added that it could hinge on Paul winning a cruiserweight world title. That would lure Alvarez into the ring because it would give him a chance to become a five-weight champion, Paul speculated.

“I think that would be what interests him, and that’s the plan,” Paul said.

Other potential future opponents, Paul said, include WBC cruiserweight champion Badou Jack, WBA lightweight champion Gervonta Davis and Tommy Fury, the only boxer to beat Paul. Fury won that eight-round fight by unanimous decision in 2023.

“I don’t even think I was a fighter then,” Paul said. “That was like 2 1/2 years into the sport, and I didn’t know what I was doing. I didn’t have the proper team around me. I didn’t have conditioning. My lifestyle outside of the ring was still that of a YouTuber, celebrity, actor, whatever I was at that point in time.

“So I wasn’t fully focused on boxing. Like I said, chapter one is done tonight, and now we’re moving into chapter two. I’m just getting warmed up in the sport. People hold the Tommy Fury thing against me, but what now? I just beat a former world champion, and I’m coming to avenge that loss as well with Tommy.”

YouTuber turned boxer Jake Paul has improved his professional fight record to 12-1 and turned his attentions back to British heavyweight Anthony Joshua.

Paul defeated former WBC middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr by unanimous decision in Southern California on Saturday.

The 28-year-old’s only loss in the ring was seven fights and more than two years ago against Tommy Fury in Saudi Arabia.

Despite a fiercely partisan crowd in favour of his opponent, Paul tore out of his corner early on and fought off a late flurry to hold on to the win.

After seeing off Chavez, Paul teased imminent confirmation of a highly anticipated transatlantic slobberknocker.

Joshua would have a height and weight advantage over a younger opponent but Paul isn’t cowed by the prospect of a pummelling.

“I’m definitely not a heavyweight, but I’m still gonna take the challenge,” he told the media.

“You look at Deontay Wilder; he was beating these guys weighing 215 pounds, [Joshua is] like 6ft 6in or something, but anything is possible.

“Anthony Joshua is an insane fight, but I want that challenge.”

Joshua, 35, has claimed 25 of his 28 professional wins by knockout and has been beaten four times.

One of those losses was a fifth-round knockout by Daniel Dubois in his last fight in September 2024. Dubois walked away as the IBF heavyweight champion having successfully defended the belt he was given after it was vacated by Oleksandr Usyk.

Chavez suggested after Saturday’s fight that Paul started strong but tired, saying that the Cleveland-born boxer isn’t ready to step up to the next level against champions like Joshua.

Nevertheless, the wheels are turning and Paul vs Joshua appears to be in the works for 2026.

“We’ve been DM-ing back and forth. He wants to make it happen. He called me up and it’s looking very likely for next year,” Paul revealed in Anaheim on Saturday.

Since turning pro in 2020, Paul has won seven fights by knockout.

Last November, he won by decision against 58-year-old Mike Tyson in a massively hyped fight in Arlington, Texas.

Joshua’s last win came in March 2024 against Francis Ngannou, who he beat by knockout in the second round in Riyadh.

Anthony Joshua has issued a stark warning to Jake Paul following their private message exchanges, telling the YouTuber-turned-boxer to be careful what he wishes for.

The former heavyweight world champion sent Paul a menacing final message after the American had taunted him about his previous knockout defeats.