As first reported by The Ring's Mike Coppinger, Anthony Joshua and Jake Paul have now finalized a deal for a heavyweight fight to be streamed on Netflix come December 19 in Miami.
Joshua (28-4, 25 KOs) hasn't boxed since his fifth-round stoppage defeat by
Daniel Dubois in September 2024, though Matchroom chief Eddie Hearn repeatedly teased the possibility of the two-time unified champion returning to action before the year's end.
Now, the plan is for him to box
Paul (12-1, 7 KOs) in a scheduled eight-rounder before kickstarting his 2026 campaign in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia's capital city sometime in February.
Paul was originally slated to face WBA lightweight world champion
Gervonta Davis (30-0-1, 28 KOs) in the same city and venue on November 14, before the entire event was shelved on a week's notice after the unbeaten beltholder's
latest domestic violence allegations.
Per MVP's press release, their fight will be contested with 10oz gloves while information relating to undercard bouts and co-main event details will be settled in the coming weeks.
MVP CEO Nakisa Bidarian has since told Sky Sports that Joshua will have a 245-pound weight limit restriction placed on him, having tipped the scales heavier than that in each of his last five bouts following an unsuccessful two-fight series with undisputed titleholder
Oleksandr Usyk.
Paul was quoted as saying: "This isn't an AI simulation, this is judgment day. A professional heavyweight fight against an elite world champion in his prime. When I beat Anthony Joshua, every doubt disappears, and no-one can deny me the opportunity to fight for a world title. To all my haters, this is what you wanted. To the people of the United Kingdom, I am sorry - the torch gets passed and Britain's Goliath gets put to sleep."
Joshua meanwhile, acknowledged the lucrative opportunity on offer to make another quick night's work - ala Francis Ngannou in March 2024 - against a famous YouTube personality.
"Jake or anyone can get this work, no mercy. I took some time out and I'm coming back with a mega show, it's a big opportunity for me. Whether you like it or not, I'm here to do massive numbers, have big fights and break every record while keeping cool, calm and collected.
"Mark my words, you'll see a lot more fighters take these opportunities in the future. I'm about to break the internet over Jake Paul's face."
The event's tagline is deemed Judgment Day, with the kick-off press conference scheduled for Friday, November 21 at 1pm ET and open to the public on a first-come, first-serve basis.
During DAZN's Chris Eubank Jr-Conor Benn II broadcast on Saturday night, Turki Alalshikh
teased that next September, he would bring Britain 'one of the greatest fights in history', with all indications leading to a long-awaited showdown between him and
Tyson Fury.
This summer, Alalshikh told ThaBoxingVoice on a livestream of his desire to see Joshua-Paul at some stage, purely to prove a point - whether Joshua truly was as diminished as critics suggest, or if Paul's divisive strategy in a ruthless sport could continue much longer.
This afternoon, both MVP and Matchroom have both confirmed the same: their proposed matchup will go ahead as planned, at Miami's Kaseya Center.
A sticking point - their contrasting broadcasting networks - were ironed out in negotiations. Joshua signed a long-term exclusive DAZN deal in 2022, while cruiserweight hopeful Paul has been aligned with Netflix since agreeing to face Mike Tyson in early 2024.