JAKE PAUL has moved a step closer to making an unthinkable fight against Anthony Joshua a reality after meeting with Turki Alalshikh.
The YouTuber-turned-boxer first called out AJ earlier in the year – setting into motion a verbal back-and-forth between the two in private.
@Turki_alalshikhTurki Alalshikh pictured with Jake Paul[/caption]
But now Paul has actually brought talks to life after linking up with Saudi boxing chief Alalshikh in New York – despite their previously rocky relationship.
Paul’s promotional partner Nakisa Bidarian revealed the meeting was not exclusively about a fight with AJ – but the topic was discussed.
Bidarian told SunSport: “We talked about a number of things with Turki and AJ was certainly a fighter that we discussed.
“It wasn’t necessarily (just) about fighting AJ etc – but we talked about a number of fighters with Turki, yes.
“But make no mistake, Jake Paul wants that fight and if timing lines up, Jake Paul will fight Anthony Joshua.”
Joshua’s last three fights – including his recent knockout loss in September to Daniel Dubois – have all involved Alalshikh.
And AJ’s promoter Eddie Hearn revealed talks for a fresh two-bout deal with the Saudi chief were ongoing earlier in the year.
WBC cruiserweight champion Badou Jack’s last fight – a controversial win over Noel Mikaelian – was also on a Riyadh Season card.
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After Paul defeated ex-middleweight champ Julio Cesar Chavez Jr in June, he called out Jack and AJ.
Bidarian met with Paul on the week of Katie Taylor’s trilogy bout win over Amanda Serrano and revealed: “We did talk about the different options that he has in front of him.
“We’re still going through it. He has two goals – and I’ve said that before – he wants to become world champion, and he wants to do big events.
“Obviously the money is great, but he wants to create opportunity for other fighters.
“He wants to bring attention to the sport. He wants to expand the fanbase of the sport.”
Paul moved up to heavyweight in November when Mike Tyson controversially made a comeback aged 58.
Tyson lost the fight on points over eight, shorter two-minute rounds with over 100 MILLION watching on Netflix.
He dropped back down TWO STONE to the 200lb cruiserweight limit to beat Chavez Jr – earning himself a top 15 WBA ranking.
Paul confirmed he would go back up to heavyweight to fight Joshua, 35, despite struggling to maintain the size.
Hearn did not meet with Bidarian in the Big Apple but also confirmed the talks between Paul and Alalshikh over a fight with AJ.
We talked about a number of things with Turki and AJ was certainly a fighter that we discussed.
Jake Paul’s promotional partner Nakisa Bidarian
Alalshikh has been critical of Paul’s boxing career and opposition – including Tyson who recently turned 59.
But the two appear to have made amends with the potential of working together in the future.
Bidarian added: “If you look at Jake’s statements throughout the past couple of years, it hasn’t been about Turki, it’s been about fighters, right?
“Jake and I are fighter first. And as a fighter, you should always ensure you’re in an environment where fighters are first, fighters are the priority, fighters are the product, and that’s, that’s really been the core of his message.
“There’s no reason for Jake and Turki to be on opposite side of the spectrum when it comes to boxing, because they have a common goal.
“And that common goal is to make boxing the number one sport in the world, once again, like it used to be. And Jake’s done a great job of that with the youth.
“There’s never been more youth interest within boxing and Turki’s done a great job of that in terms of breaking down the walls of fragmentation on the men’s side and giving boxing some of its biggest fights.
“Our strategy is gonna continue to be to be fighter first and we’re gonna create an umbrella brand for women’s boxing that has the best product.
“What you saw last Friday night was eight fights and at least six of them were very high-level boxing.
“And that’s very unique in the sport to have balanced top tier athletes going at it from A to Z on the card and that’s what we want to offer.”
Nakisa Bidarian has met with Jake Paul over his next fight
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