Jake Paul Next Opponent Odds: Anthony Joshua Now the Frontrunner to Fight Jake Paul Per Eddie Hearn

In our last breakdown of the odds and theories surrounding Jake Paul’s next opponent, Anthony Joshua was nowhere near the betting favorite. That seems to be changing with news out of promoter Eddie Hearn.

Hearn now says Paul is “absolutely the front-runner” to face Joshua in early 2026, confirming he’s already held talks in New York with Paul’s camp, including manager Nakisa Bidarian and Most Valuable Promotions.

Joshua, sidelined since his September 2024 loss to Daniel Dubois and recovering from elbow surgery in May, is targeting a late-2025 return. The AJ camp reportedly sees this as a commercially massive fight, while Paul’s team believes Joshua’s “punch resistance is gone” making this a winnable opportunity.

Expect Joshua to leapfrog to the top spot in updated markets, potentially replacing Badou Jack and Tommy Fury as co-favorites. His addition would drastically alter the “real risk” narrative we discussed in the original article.

Projected Odds Board - Top Contenders to Fight Jake Paul Next

Here are the potential favorites to square off against Paul in his next sanctioned boxing or MMA bout:

A Joshua Fight? Yes, Seriously.

Paul, who has recently defeated both Mike Tyson and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., continues to blur the lines between celebrity boxing and professional legitimacy. News has come out that he met with Turki Alalshikh to push for the Anthony Joshua fight, which Hearn believes could take place in early 2026.

Paul’s team seems to see a real opportunity. Promoter Nakisa Bidarian claims Paul would be a tougher fight for Joshua than Francis Ngannou. Hearn compared the fight to watching a David Blaine stunt: risky, attention-grabbing, and potentially disastrous for Paul.

In our last article, we floated the idea that Jake Paul might finally be ready to flip the script and embrace the role of true underdog, not just against a faded MMA star, but against an active, dangerous boxer.

That’s exactly what this is. Joshua is younger than many of Paul’s past opponents, hits harder than all of them, and has been fighting at heavyweight his entire career.

If this bout is booked, Paul won’t just be the stunt that many know him to be, he’ll be a massive betting underdog. That narrative shift could make the fight more marketable than anything Paul has done so far.

Projected Opening Odds — Jake Paul vs. Anthony Joshua

While sportsbooks haven’t posted official lines yet, early projections from boxing analysts might look something like this:

These odds are not official by any stretch, just a projection that reflect Joshua’s massive experience gap, size advantage, and knockout power, but also acknowledge Paul’s durability and ability to make fights competitive in recent history.

Joshua Changes the Conversation

In our earlier analysis, we noted Paul’s matchmaking formula:

• Famous names over prime competition
• Winnable but credible matchups
• Avoidance of top-tier active boxers

Joshua breaks all three rules. He’s an active, elite-level heavyweight who still carries fight-ending power. This doesn't appear at first glance like a calculated risk, it seems to be a leap into deep water.

If it happens, the fight could finally give Paul what we said he needed: a true underdog storyline with legitimate stakes.