Jake Paul handed blow as Anthony Joshua's next opponent is 'leaked'

Anthony Joshua appears to have dashed Jake Paul's hopes of a future bout by hinting his next opponent will be Tony Yoka.

Paul has been vocal about wanting to square off with Joshua, even suggesting a potential showdown at Wembley Stadium in 2026. Yet, in a recent chat with BoxNation, Yoka made it clear he's keen on a match-up with 'AJ.'

Yoka, who won Olympic gold in Rio, turned pro in 2017 and initially impressed before hitting a rough patch with losses to Martin Bakole, Carlos Takam, and Ryad Merhy. The French heavyweight has bounced back with victories over Amine Boucetta, Lamah Griggs, and Arslan Yallyev.

Having inked a deal with Queensberry Promotions, Yoka is eyeing more significant bouts, and whispers of a clash with Joshua have been swirling. "I mean, I heard some rumours about it. I believe in my team. I believe in Queensberry, my manager and my coach to do the best fights for me," he said. "I'm not in any talks with him so I don't know what's going on," reports All Out Fighting. "What I know is that I'm getting ready for anybody and after this big win, if they ask or propose me to fight Joshua, of course. That would be a great, great fight for me to take."

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Boxing promoter Yohan Zaoui revealed he recently bumped into Joshua in Cyprus, who hinted at a potential bout with Tony Yoka. "With my wife and children, I'm on vacation at a hotel in Limassol, by the sea, in southern Cyprus," said Zaoui before adding: "And who do I run into this morning at the pool? Joshua! He's also on vacation with his family, with his younger brother and his nieces and nephews. I chatted with him for a few minutes. He's humble and kind."

Zaoui couldn't resist probing about Joshua's next opponent, to which he disclosed: "He told me that his next opponent would certainly be French, Yoka. He told me that he had the option of facing the American YouTuber Jake Paul, but that 90 per cent of the time it would be Yoka. I asked him his prediction. He told me that there was no easy fight."

Meanwhile, Eddie Hearn has suggested that Paul might actually be leading the race to face Joshua. Hearn revealed: "This bizarre world that we live in, I think Jake Paul is absolutely the front-runner to fight Anthony Joshua next," and elaborated, "I'm here in New York for a meeting about that fight. There's open dialogue between myself and Nakisa [Bidarian, Paul's manager] and MVP [Most Valuable Promotions]. I can't sit here and tell you this is a 50/50 match-up. The whole thing is bizarre. I think it's extremely dangerous for Jake Paul. The boxing world are saying, 'please AJ, go in and evaporate this young man from the boxing world so we can all get on as normal'.

"You got Jake Paul fans thinking, bizarrely, they can beat Anthony Joshua, and the most bizarre thing out of everything is that Jake Paul genuinely believes he will beat Anthony Joshua. I think it's the only reason we're going to see this fight because Jake Paul and his merry men are telling him that AJ's punch resistance is gone, 'this is a great time to fight him'.

"I'm telling you, be careful for what you wish for because this is the most dangerous thing. This is like tuning in to watch [magician] David Blaine. You know when he's in a box and you're wondering whether he's going to get out in time, I've told Nakisa, this ain't David Blaine. This is going in with one of the fiercest punchers of our generation and if you go in there thinking you're going to win, that's even more dangerous. I know commercially this fight breaks all kinds of records and I don't even know what's going on to know that we're sitting there negotiating this fight, but I truly believe you're going to see it at the beginning of 2026. For AJ, he says to me, 'you want me to go and knock Jake Paul out? No problem'. That's where we sit."

When is Anthony Joshua's next fight?

Joshua is on the mend after elbow surgery, with plans to make a comeback before the end of the year. His promoter, Eddie Hearn, disclosed that 'AJ' is looking to move forward in his career after chasing a fight with Tyson Fury, but he still harbours hopes of clashing with the 'Gypsy King' eventually.

Eddie Hearn shared an update with Sky Sports regarding Joshua's recovery and return, stating: "Yeah, good, he had that operation recently... that elbow surgery, which went very well. You will see him return in October, November or December."