It has been almost a year since Anthony Joshua (28-4, 25 KOs) last stepped inside the ring. While the announcement of his potential fight against Jake Paul (12-1, 7 KOs) piqued some interest among fans, Paul’s decision to fight Gervonta Davis has certainly raised a few eyebrows. With fans waiting for AJ’s return, Matchroom boss, Eddie Hearn, came in with an update.
Hearn joined Matchroom Boxing’s Jamie Ward for The Matchroom Boxing Flash Knockdown podcast, where the main bone of contention was Boxing News’ recent boxing power list. Hearn certainly wasn’t pleased when Ward shadowed the list and referred to him as the “third most powerful man in boxing” after Turki Alalshikh and Frank Warren.
Calling the list “controversial”, Hearn seemed concerned by the fact that he was placed third in the list (or any list in that matter).
“I think it’s a disgrace really. But what can you do? Lot of politics in boxing,” he said. However, he did mention that he was placed in the fifth position last year but always came in the top five since the list’s inception, highlighting that he was “consistent”.
This was when Ward pointed out that Joshua was placed 49 on the very same list and asked Hearn if he thought that was a justifiable placement.
Referring to the list as “someone having a laugh”, having the most British response to hide his annoyance. Hearn was quick to come in support of his fighter, even going as far as to compare him to the other fighters in the list and stating why he should have been placed higher.
He was then asked about the possibility of Joshua fighting Paul, especially since Paul was now eyeing a showdown against Davis. Hearn responded by saying that it was highly possible for the fight to take place in January or February 2026 rather than at the end of this year. He also revealed that Joshua was back in training after his elbow surgery.
“These fights take time. You know every AJ event is a massive event. You know, it was well publicized the meetings that took place in Ghana over the last couple of weeks. There has been an offer to do a fight there. I think it’ll be incredible for AJ to fight in Africa,” he said. Adding that there is no tearing rush for a fight despite AJ being out of the ring for a year. “When you’re doing site deals, a lot of it depends on when that site wants the show. So if Ghana comes back and says, ‘We want to go January or February, that’s the offer.”
“It’s Just Bizarre”
Meanwhile, Hearn has had a hard time wrapping his head around the possibility of Paul fighting Davis. With a weight difference of over 50 pounds between the two fighters, Hearn’s concerns are real. And he did not hold back when asked about the matchup.
“It’s just bizarre really. You know, I think when we had the approach from Jake Paul, I said to Nakisa, ‘This is not an exhibition, is it?’ I’m not interested in pillow gloves or two-minute rounds or whatever,” he said during the same interview, stating that Paul’s team had agreed for it to be a legitimate fight. “Now you’ve gone from a 250 pound world heavyweight champion to a 135-pound, 5 foot 6. I mean it’s just bizarre. You’ve got a cruiserweight fighting a lightweight.”
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