Eddie Hearn Confirms Anthony Joshua Would Fight Jake Paul
Eddie Hearn has confirmed that two-time Heavyweight Champion Anthony Joshua could take on YouTuber turned boxer Jake Paul "for a huge amount of money", after the ex-Vine star called on AJ for a fight.
Eddie Hearn played a big role in the early growth of influencer boxing with his hand in promoting KSI vs Logan Paul 2 in Los Angeles. The Matchroom Boxing promoter now, however, dislikes the YouTube boxing scene admitting with KSI and Paul he "cringed" throughout the event.
Speaking on The Sports Agents Podcast, Hearn refuses to rule out a clash between his fighter and Logan's brother Jake as long as the finances are right.
"Would we fight Jake Paul for a huge amount of money? Yes. I mean, it would just be an easy night's work,” he says. “I'm not really a fan of it, it’s such a chronic mismatch. But Jake Paul is so money and attention orientated, that he would do something silly like that.”
In contrast to this statement, however, Hearn criticises heavily mismatched fights in reference to Jake Paul taking on former Heavyweight Champion Mike Tyson at 58 years of age. The 45-year-old suggests that no commission should allow such heavily weighted fights, including AJ vs Paul, perhaps suggesting they might nonetheless after Paul vs Tyson in Texas. He explains:
"We’ve just seen him fight a 60-year-old. And that was ridiculous. Jake Paul is an active cruiserweight"
"I thought it was disgusting, to be honest with you.”
Despite all this, the success of influencer and crossover boxing cannot be denied, with an estimated 108 million viewers tuning in to see 'Iron' Mike come out of retirement in the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Numbers like these eclipse the numbers of some of the best fights 'proper' boxing has to offer.
With this, many have hailed shows like Misfits Boxing and MVP Promotions for the capacity they have to bring new fans into the sport of boxing. Hall of Fame promoter Frank Warren disagrees, however, suggesting it might not be doing the good that people claim. Once again, speaking to The Sports Agents Podcast, he said:
“The problem is that the young audience thinks that is boxing. That's the big problem with it”
He continues: “Is that what you're going to try and be? Is that the person you want to be? And I hope that's not going to be the case, because it loses the essence of what our sport is.”
Anthony Joshua remains without a comeback fight since his loss to Daniel Dubois in September last year, losing out on the IBF World Heavyweight title at Wembley Stadium. The question remains whether we will see Tyson Fury step out of retirement for a mega fight with AJ, or will it be a cash grab fight against Jake Paul that is preferred for the Olympic gold medallist?