Jake Paul has denied he was on drugs after he sensationally called out two-time heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua last week.
The YouTuber-turned-boxer sent shockwaves through the fight community, declaring his desire to step into the ring with the two-time champ. “I want to fight Anthony Joshua because I know I will f***ing beat Anthony Joshua’s a**,” he proclaimed on his YouTube channel ‘BS with Jake Paul. He doesn’t have a chin and he has no skill and he’s stiff. I love you, Anthony, we’re friends and all this s*** but I want to fight you. I will beat Canelo, I will beat a lot of f***ing people.”
Joshua hasn’t been seen in the ring since a loss to Brit Daniel Dubois in September. Paul, 28, was last seen in the ring back in November, overcoming ex-heavyweight world champ Mike Tyson. Earlier this year, rumours began circulating regarding a showdown between the young American and Mexican superstar Canelo Alvarez in May, however, those whispers were extinguished after Alvarez inked a profitable contract with Riyadh Season.
Paul’s unexpected call-out raised eyebrows, prompting even his brother Logan to dig for answers. In a recent upload to his official YouTube channel titled ‘My Brother Is Fighting Anthony Joshua,’ the brothers are caught on camera jetting off as ‘The Maverick’ quizzes ‘The Problem Child’ over his ambitious move against ‘AJ’.
On a plane journey, Paul was left gobsmacked as he quizzed his brother with the blunt question: “When you called out Anthony Joshua, were you on cocaine?” The 28-year-old replied: “No, I don’t do that thing” but then quipped: “But I would if you’ve got some.”
The conversation soon escalated when the WWE superstar probed further, asking: “Why did you do that?” ‘The Problem Child’ openly shared his goal before taking a subtle dig at Joshua. “To be the heavyweight champion of the world. His chin has gone.” His sibling quickly interrupted, reminding him: “But he’s still Anthony Joshua!” Yet Paul didn’t hold back, delivering another slicing verbal jab at the Brit: “Which is stiff, no rhythm, no skill, just no power.”
‘The Maverick’ was then quick to question the seriousness of the challenge: “You’re serious about fighting him?” Paul, brimming with confidence, confirmed: “Yeah, it’s in 2026, we already talked.” As the conversation wrapped up, the WWE star couldn’t help but praise his younger brother’s audacious nature. “Congrats on having such massive balls and being super rich,” he remarked.
Despite the back-and-forth, one figure who remains sceptical about this much-anticipated clash actually happening is boxing promoter Eddie Hearn. The 45-year-old was adamant that no commission would ever permit ‘The Problem Child’ to face off against ‘AJ’. “I don’t think there’s a commission, really, that should allow that kind of fight,” Hearn stated on The Sports Agents podcast. “But you know, we’ve just seen him [Jake Paul] fight a 60-year-old [Mike Tyson]. And that was ridiculous. Look, Jake Paul is an active cruiserweight, right? He’s nowhere near world level… I thought it was disgusting, to be honest with you.”
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