Boxing

Jake Paul Casts Doubt On Anthony Joshua Fight Date With Cryptic 6-Word Message

Jake Paul seemed to send a message about when he could be fighting Anthony Joshua.
Grant Young|
Jake Paul watching Jutta Leerdam watching the race WC Single Distances on March 15, 2025.
Jake Paul watching Jutta Leerdam watching the race WC Single Distances on March 15, 2025. | IMAGO / Pro Shots

On November 12, news broke that Jake Paul was finalizing a fight with Olympic gold medalist and former two-time heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua as a replacement for his cancelled fight against Gervonta "Tank" Davis, which was supposed to take place on November 15.

It had been reported that Paul was seeking a new opponent and fight date after he and his team decided to cancel the November 15 exhibition bout against Davis, as a result of a domestic violence lawsuit filed against him at the end of October.

While Joshua wasn't included in the initial list of names Paul's team was reaching out to (which included Ryan Garcia, Francis Ngannou, and Terence Crawford), he quickly became a name that was thrown around as an option, if only because the two sides had been negotiating a fight earlier this year.

Since this fight announcement, Eddie Hearn (who promotes Joshua) has made it clear that no fight has been finalized. However, all indications are that these two are going to go toe-to-toe at some point soon, in what's going to be a professional bout.

Who will Anthony Joshua fight next?
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Jake Paul Sends Cryptic Message About Anthony Joshua Fight Date

Once the Paul vs. Davis fight was cancelled, it came out that Paul was looking to still fight on Netflix at some point in December. And once news broke about Anthony Joshua stepping in, the sentiment was that December 11, December 19, or December 26 were the most likely dates that the fight would occur.

However, Paul seemed to pour cold water on these potential dates with a November 13 X post that read, "Not holding my breath for 2025. Too many yes men. F1 next weekend is for sure @CelsiusOfficial".

While one can't say for certain, the assumption is that Paul is referring to his fight with Joshua by saying he's "Not holding my breath for 2025". And his sentiment about "Too many yes men" might be a dig toward Eddie Hearn, who he's surely negotiating with right now.

There's a chance Paul could be alluding to something completely different. But he had to know this is what fans would have assumed he'd be talking about.

For what it's worth, Mike Coppinger of Ring Magazine (who reported the initial Paul vs. Joshua fight news) made an X post on November 13 saying, "[Paul vs. Joshua] is slated to take place Friday, Dec. 19, per sources."

Then again, Coppinger was premature with his initial fight announcement (according to Hearn), so perhaps his report should be taken with a grain of salt.

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Grant Young
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Grant Young is a Staff Writer for On SI’s Boxing, New York Mets, Indiana Fever, and Women’s Fastbreak sites. Before joining SI in 2024, he wrote for various boxing and sports verticals such as FanBuzz and NY Fights. Young has a bachelor’s degree in marketing and a master’s degree in creative writing with an emphasis on sports nonfiction from the University of San Francisco, where he played five seasons of Division 1 baseball. He fought Muay Thai professionally in Thailand in 2023, loves a good essay, and is driven crazy trying to handle a pitpull puppy named Aura. Young lives in San Diego and was raised in the San Francisco Bay Area.