Anthony Joshua is set to get back into the ring as talks are ongoing for him to fight Jake Paul in a fight that could take place in 2026.
Joshua's promoter, Eddie Hearn, says that it is likely that the fight could be the Briton's next outing, as the once two-time heavyweight world champion - with 32 professional fights – will come up against American Paul, who rose to fame on YouTube, with 13 bouts to his name.
Hearn said: "At first I thought it was a publicity stunt from Jake and now the more I speak to them the more I actually understand - Jake Paul thinks he can beat Anthony Joshua.
"This is a step too far. So be careful what you wish for, because this isn't a game.
"This isn't YouTube, or Disney - this is the danger zone." Both teams denied conditions could be part of the fight, like when Paul fought long-retired and then 58-year-old Mike Tyson last November.
That contest had bigger gloves and a maximum of eight rounds, each limited to two minutes. Most Valuable Promotions CEO Nakisa Bardian, who set up MVP with 28-year-old Paul, says he is "not worried about safety at all".
"This would be pursued as a straight up professional fight," said Bidarian. "I think there's certainly an experience gap between the two of them in terms of where they're at in their career.
"From my prospective, Joshua's an active heavyweight. The likelihood of Anthony Joshua being able to land a heavyweight punch is much higher than what Mike Tyson had.
"I want to give Jake as much time as possible to improve on his boxing skillset to be able to effectively neutralise that main attribute of Anthony Joshua. My ask of him is to wait longer to do it.
“But when an opportunity is there, sometimes if you don't take it, it never comes back." Hearn also acknowledged the fight would face criticism should it be made.
In Japan, there was a timely reminder of the dangers of the sport as super-featherweight Shigetoshi Kotari died from injuries he sustained in a bout earlier this month. Paul has fought many ex-MMA fighters in boxing, has competed at cruiserweight and his single loss was to Tommy Fury.
While the American has insisted becoming a world champion is his ultimate goal, there are few in the sport who would say that is possible. Bidarian likened the potential match-up to when ex-UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou crossed into boxing.
"Anthony Joshua fought Francis Ngannou. Francis Ngannou first fought Tyson Fury who many says is a better boxer than Anthony Joshua and went all 10 rounds," Bidarian said.
"And then had the opportunity to fight Anthony Joshua and got flatlined. Which happens all the time in boxing." Hearn and Bidarian both said the fight would probably take place at a stadium in the United States.
As many as 72,000 people watched Paul and Tyson at the AT&T Stadium in Texas while Joshua has staged six of his fights at different stadiums in the UK. The main motivation for Joshua is the prospective fight purse, which Hearn said could exceed his previous paydays.
