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Eddie Hearn Reveals 'Only Thing' That Can Stop Jake Paul vs Anthony Joshua From Happening

Originally posted on KO on SI | By Grant Young | Last updated Aug 20, 2025 10:49 AM ET

Jake Paul has become known for his larger-than-life callouts after some of his fights. However, these fight callouts aren't pipe dreams. They're calculated, and Paul only mentions boxers that he believes have a chance of accepting his summons to the ring.

Mike Tyson accepted Paul's callout, thus creating the most-watched live boxing event in the sport's history l ast year. Canelo Alvarez was on the cusp of accepting Paul's callout after that Tyson fight before pivoting at the last second.

And it now seems that Anthony Joshua is going to heed Paul's callout of him after Paul defeated Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. at the end of June.

Earlier this month, Eddie Hearn (Joshua's promoter) said of a potential Paul vs Joshua fight, “This is very real. "I had a good chat for about an hour with Nakisa on Wednesday, and now I believe they want the fight, I really do. Nakisa was very honest, and he was concerned about the fight, but Jake truly believes he can win the fight, or at least be competitive in it.

"And now, because of the size of the fight, it leads me to believe there's a very good chance it could happen. If I had to rate that chance, I would say it's 50-50. It was a very positive conversation and we expect t hat conversation to extend over the coming weeks," Hearn added.

Eddie Hearn Provides Telling Anthony Joshua vs Jake Paul Update

Things have only progressed since the last quote from Hearn regarding this fight between a former Olympic gold medalist and a former YouTuber. This was conveyed with comments Hearn made during an August 20 interview with The Stomping Ground.

"Look, if we take this [Paul vs. Joshua] fight, it's a real fight. We're not going in there as an exhibition, or a YouTube match. AJ is gonna prepare like he's fighting a world champion. And he's gonna go in, and he's gonna demolish him. And we're gonna move on," Hearn said in the interview.

"But the only thing that can stop this fight from happening right now is Jake Paul, all of a sudden, not wanting to do it, or not fancying it. That's the only thing. Otherwise, this fight is happening," he added.

Hearn also noted that all that needs to happen now is for the trigger to get pulled on this fight, and that happens once Paul gives his final confirmation.

It seems this fight is a handshake and some signatures away from becoming a reality.

This article first appeared on KO on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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