Anthony Joshua teases fight with Jake Paul after both share phone call

Anthony Joshua and Jake Paul have been hyping up the possibility of a fight after the YouTuber laid into the former champion, revealing they'd had a phone call.

Paul was speaking on his podcast when he started giving it all that about how he was sure he could win, throwing all sorts of insults at Joshua and declaring that the two-time unified world heavyweight champion 'doesn't have a chin'.

He said: "I want to fight Anthony Joshua because I know I will f**king beat Anthony Joshua's a**e. He doesn't have a chin, and he has no skill and he is stiff.

"I love you Anthony, and we are friends. But I want to fight you."

It'd be a very different fight for Jake Paul than boxing with a 58-year-old man (Al Bello/Getty Images for Netflix)

While there are many people who would surely love to see Paul put his money where his mouth is, it would seem like quite the step up for the YouTuber-turned-boxer who most recently fought a rather old Mike Tyson.

The pair then revealed on their socials that they'd been on the phone to each other, as Joshua posted a screenshot of them calling each other which he ominously marked for '2026'.

Presumably this means some kind of collaboration is on the cards, but if Joshua is really teasing a fight against Jake Paul, it's likely to be a big money maker even if it would seem to be a rather uneven matchup.

Even though he was recently defeated by Daniel Dubois, Joshua is likely still one of the finest heavyweight boxers in the world and only a handful of others are more adept in the ring.

Paul, meanwhile, has an impressive record of 11 wins and one defeat, but has not exactly faced the most illustrious competition.

It seems like they're cooking something up (Instagram/@anthonyjoshua)

Joshua doesn't have a fight in the pipeline, with an anticipated bout against Tyson Fury seemingly not on the cards given Fury's apparent retirement from the sport.

Then again, whether Fury's retirement is actually a sure thing remains to be seen as there's always the chance he could be coaxed back into the ring.

Going from potentially fighting Tyson Fury to stepping into the ring with the man who lost to Tommy Fury would be a bit of a change for Joshua, and it'd be a fight everyone was expecting him to win.

Joshua seemingly doesn't intend to retire from boxing just yet as after his defeat to Dubois he said his career was 'far from over'.

Wherever Jake Paul has gone a lot of money has followed, and people might be interested to see how he stacks up against a boxer of Joshua's calibre.

We'll see.