ANTHONY JOSHUA has been told a fight with Jake Paul would be FIVE TIMES bigger than against Tyson Fury.
AJ has been in shock talks to face Paul next year after being called out by the YouTuber-turned-boxer.
GettyJake Paul called out Anthony Joshua[/caption]
GettyJoshua and Jake Paul agreed to fight in 2026[/caption]
GettyAJ has been told a fight with Jake Paul is even bigger than Tyson Fury[/caption]
And Paul’s promotional and business partner Nakisa Bidarian argued there is no bigger bout for Joshua globally – including his greatest rival Fury.
Bidarian told SunSport: “Ultimately Jake versus Joshua is three, four or five times bigger than Joshua versus Fury, easily. Not in the UK, the UK I think they’re similar.
“But on a global basis, it’s not even in the realm of the same conversation in terms of magnitude, scale, reach, interest, viewership, it would just blow it away.
“Joshua and Fury are not relevant in the US, meaning the hardcore boxing community will pay attention, but it’s not a moment where mainstream culture stops and pays attention to it.
“In the UK, absolutely but you’ll have that with Jake and Joshua as well.”
Joshua looked to quite literally call Paul’s bluff as he phoned up the American after his viral callout.
And Paul is also ready to ignore AJ’s promoter Eddie Hearn’s challenge to accept the fight this year.
Bidarian said: “I won’t get into what they discussed, but yes, I’m fully aware of the multiple conversations they’ve had and a desire to fight each other in 2026.
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“I saw Eddie Hearn made a comment around ‘Why 2026? Why not in 2025? It’s just clickbait.’ No, it’s not clickbait.
“Jake realises he needs some more in-ring experience to be in the best position to hold his own against Anthony Joshua. So we’re not rushing into a fight against Joshua.
“We’re not financially dependent on Jake having a fight against Anthony Joshua for 2025 for our business to flourish.
“We’re gonna do at least two Jake Paul fights in 2025, and then we’ll definitely sit down with the appropriate parties to look at Jake Paul versus Anthony Joshua in 2026.”
Joshua, 35, has not yet fought since being knocked out by Daniel Dubois, 27, in September with a recent injury backdating his return.
Paul, 28, meanwhile brought Mike Tyson out of retirement at the age of 58 in November in a bout marred in controversy amid the age difference.
He won over eight rounds and despite the surrounding scrutiny – over 100 MILLION tuned in on Netflix to watch.
It prompted talks for Paul to fight Canelo Alvarez in Vegas in May – but the Mexican instead signed a four-bout deal with Saudi’s Turki Alalshikh.
Paul is now closing in on announcing what will be the first of two bouts in 2025 before a further three are targeted for next year.
And Bidarian – co-founder of Most Valuable Promotions alongside Paul – named Joshua and Canelo as opponents on the wish-list.
Jake versus Joshua is three, four or five times bigger than Joshua versus Fury, easily
Jake Paul’s promotional partner Nakisa Bidarian
He said: “I think it’s 100 per cent a realistic fight. Jake hasn’t been in the ring with someone that has the power that Joshua has in this current time.
“Mike Tyson, much more devastating knockout artist than Anthony Joshua in his career, but the Mike Tyson that Jake fought wasn’t that same Mike Tyson, obviously.
“So Jake has to get to a point where he feels confident that he can take those types of punches from someone like Joshua.
“I know from Jake’s perspective, he doesn’t believe that Joshua will land, but you have to be prepared that he does land and how do you deal with that.
“But that’s what makes it exciting. I mean, yes, Joshua is a much bigger man in terms of height and reach than Mike Tyson.
“And that will possess its own challenges for Jake Paul, but Jake doesn’t say something if he doesn’t feel confident about it.
“He’s been pretty clear, he doesn’t want to fight David Benavidez. He doesn’t believe he can beat David Benavidez in any time frame of his career, but he wants to fight Canelo Alvarez, he wants to fight Anthony Joshua.
“Those are two names that he’s dead set on and feels very good about.”
Joshua and Paul both took to social media to show on their phone call – but pleasantries could soon be traded for punches.
He said: “I don’t think there’s any animosity at this point in time between the two of them.
“But I’m sure if the fight is made and Jake is Jake, there will be lots of animosity between them. And we would look forward to that.”
Joshua with Jake Paul in Dubai in 2022 Creator – [#item_custom_dc:creator]
