Boxing fans are speculating over Jake Paul and Anthony Joshua's rumoured fight following the former’s latest social media activity.
News emerged last week that both fighters were in talks over a remarkable December date after Paul cancelled his scheduled fight with Gervonta Davis on November 14 after the lightweight world champion was accused of kidnapping and battery in a civil lawsuit.
Paul's Most Valuable Promotions confirmed that the YouTuber-turned-boxer would fight a new opponent "before the end of 2025", and talk of facing Joshua soon emerged.
Paul has a history of calling out the sport's biggest names as he tries to grow his reputation alongside a 12-1 record, which includes wins over former MMA fighters, journeymen boxers and a 58-year-old Mike Tyson.
He has previously - and repeatedly - been turned down by the likes of Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez, but talks over a showdown with Joshua on Netflix were last week said to be a "done deal" and a December 19 date was mooted.
However, boxing fans are now speculating that the fight could be off after Paul's latest social media activity.
HAHHAAHHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAH
— Jake Paul (@jakepaul) November 16, 2025
Taking to X on Sunday, Paul posted: "HAHHAAHHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAH"
Ring Magazine's Wade Plemmons, whose colleague Mike Coppinger first broke the news of a possible Paul-Joshua bout, replied to the post with: "Don’t tell me this means what I think this means…"
Boxing content creator Zach Schumaker posted: "Could this mean Jake Paul vs Anthony Joshua is off? 🤔
But Plemmons then followed up by suggesting Paul's post could mean a deal was agreed after he posted a a screenshot of a famous Muhammad Ali speech on his Instagram, in which he says in part: "All of you chumps are going to bow when I whoop him ... the man’s in trouble, I'm going to show you how great I am."
Paul's post came hours after Saudi boxing supremo Turki Alalshikh revealed that Joshua will fight in the Gulf state in February 2026 and then in London the following September.
"We will have Joshua in our country in February," he said on DAZN ahead of Chris Eubank Jr and Conor Benn's rematch. "Next year, we have two big events here in London, which will be a surprise."
He added: "Then there is the big fight, one of the greatest fights in the history of boxing in London, maybe in September. We will have a surprise for the fans."
Fans are speculating that the long-awaited British superfight showdown between Joshua and Tyson Fury could be the September 'surprise'.
