ANTHONY JOSHUA and Jake Paul teased a shock fight in 2026 after sharing a phone call.
YouTuber-turned-boxer Paul sent social media into a frenzy after he called out AJ on his podcast with David Benadivez joining as a guest.
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Paul said: “I want to fight Anthony Joshua – exclusive – because I know I will f***ing beat Anthony Joshua’s ass.
“He doesn’t have a chin, and he has no skill and he’s stiff. I love you Anthony, we’e friends, all this s*** but I want to fight you.
“I will beat Canelo, I will beat a lot of f***ing people – I will not beat David Benavidez. I would get torn up, bro. This guy’s different.”
Joshua soon posted a screenshot five minutes into a phone call with Paul and wrote: “2026.”
Paul also uploaded a photo with AJ on the phone and captioned it: “Look who called. 2026 @anthonyjoshua.”
The American, 27, beat Mike Tyson, 58, in his last bout but it was marred in controversy amid the age gap between them.
After the fight – which was viewed by more than 100MILLION on Netflix – Paul’s team opened the door to a potential AJ fight.
Paul weighed a career-heaviest 227lb (16st 2lb) for his eight-round points win over Tyson.
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Joshua, 35, was 252.5lb (18st) for his September KO loss to Daniel Dubois, 27, meaning there is still a TWO STONE difference with Paul.
Paul is 11-1 as a boxer with his only defeat coming by split-decision to Tommy Fury, 25, in Saudi Arabia in 2023.
In 2021 – a year after his pro debut – Joshua voiced public support of Paul.
He told iFL TV: “[He’s] great for boxing. He’s trying, zero amateur experience, throwing himself in the deep end.
“He’ll probably learn a lot more than a lot of fighters, throwing himself in the deep end, putting himself under pressure. Good luck to him.”
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