Joseph Parker: Anthony Joshua’s Proposed Fight With Jake Paul “doesn’t Make Any Sense” For A Former Champion

Joseph Parker says, “it doesn’t make any sense” for former two-time heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua to be fighting YouTuber turned boxer Jake Paul. Parker has to fight the top fighters for him to be seen as “serious” about the sport.

WBO interim heavyweight champion Parker states that Paul (12-1, 7 KOs) has done well for himself since turning professional in 2020, but he’s “not a real boxer.” Jake has reportedly earned $100 million in his brief five-year boxing career. With that kind of money made in such a short time, you can’t blame Joshua for wanting to face him rather than one of the less popular “real” heavyweights.

Joshua’s Biggest Payday Yet

Promoter Eddie Hearn says the Joshua-Paul fight will happen in 2026. “I truly believe [the fight] will happen in early 2026,” said Hearn to Sky Sports. Hearn believes the fight will be Joshua’s “biggest payday ever,” and understandably so. Jake Paul has a massive following on social media with millions of subscribers to Instagram, X, TikTok, and YouTube.

“AJ was a great champion when he was a champion. If he is serious about boxing and is serious about wanting to be involved in the sport at the top level, that fight doesn’t make any sense at all,” said WBO interim heavyweight champion Joseph Parker to Sky Sports Boxing about Anthony Joshua potentially fighting Jake Paul in 2026.

It’s unclear whether Parker is still holding out a glimmer of hope that Joshua will look in his direction to give him a chance to avenge his loss against him seven years ago. Realistically, I give Parker no hope of getting a second fight against AJ. There’s no upside for Joshua to fight Parker again, as he’s not popular compared to other heavyweights. Moreover, Joshua already beat him.

Joshua defeated then-WBO heavyweight champion Parker on March 31, 2018, in a unification fight. It was an odd fight involving the referee Giuseppe Quartarone, who frequently separated the two fighters when they were in close. Some fans believe this prevented Parker from getting his shots off.

Is Paul a “Real Boxer”?

“Jake Paul has done well to promote himself, and saying he’s one of the best in the world. But if you look at it, he’s not really a real boxer. He’s a YouTuber coming to boxing, and he’s done well. But if AJ wants to be serious, then he has to fight the top fighters in the world,” said Parker.

It doesn’t matter if Parker views Jake Paul as a “real boxer.” What’s important here is that his promoter, Hearn, believes Joshua can make more money fighting him than he can against other fighters aside from Tyson Fury.