Anthony Joshua and Jake Paul have been trading messages back-and-forth, as their unlikely showdown seemingly gathers momentum.
Paul, who missed out on a sensational clash with Canelo Alvarez, called out Joshua in March, claiming the two-time heavyweight world champion doesn’t have a chin.
‘The Problem Child’ claims the Watford man initiated their latest interaction, replying to a video of him training for his June 28 bout against Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.
“It was all nice, we’ve been cordial,” the 28-year-old told The Sun.
“He DM’d me today like saying “LOL” to one of my training clips and then I sent him a “LOL” of him getting knocked out.
“And so I guess like we’re kind of s*** talking, behind the scenes a bit.
“But I have a lot of love for Anthony Joshua.
“I think this type of stuff is funny and he’s a great guy and I think just a fight between us would be awesome and I do believe I can win.”
Joshua has been out of the ring since suffering a devastating fifth round knockout loss to Daniel Dubois at Wembley Stadium.
The 35-year-old has since been sidelined with an elbow injury and earlier this week his career-long promoter, Eddie Hearn claimed he could retire from the sport next year and remains hopeful of Tyson Fury reversing his retirement for a long-awaited, all-British blockbuster.
“AJ would have been out of the ring just over a year by the time he steps back into the ring,” the 46-year-old said on The Ariel Helwani Show.
“He will be coming off surgery. I don’t think Fury will be ready to fight around that time anyway.
“But I expect it to be someone that will gear him up for a really big fight in 2026 and probably 2026 will be his last year in the sport.
“It’s probably three fights away.
“If I’m advising AJ, we’re back this year, we have two Tyson Fury fights, what else is there to do?
“Maybe fight a Daniel Dubois, but I think that for me, once AJ fights Tyson Fury, he’s kind of done it all.
“I’d love him to have another crack at Dubois and I’d love him to have another crack at Usyk, but you just go on an on.
“Now if we get to next year and he’s still firing on all cylinders then 2026 won’t be his last year.
“But for me, something feels right about coming back this year, beating Tyson Fury twice and sailing off into the sunset.”
