Jake Paul will indeed fight Anthony Joshua in a professional boxing match set to air on Netflix next month (Fri., Dec. 19, 2025) from inside Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida.
The fight was announced by Paul himself on social media earlier this morning (Mon., Nov. 17, 2025) followed by a press release by Most Valuable Promotions.
“Yes, it’s real,” Paul wrote on X. “JAKE PAUL vs ANTHONY JOSHUA will go head to head in a pro heavyweight fight LIVE only on Netflix. Friday December 19.”
The accompanying poster has the same South Florida location for the fight, which is being explicitly advertised as a professional Heavyweight bout and (not an exhibition).
”This isn’t an AI simulation, this is Judgment Day,” Paul declared in the fight’s press release. “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. On Friday, December 19, under the lights in Miami, live globally only on Netflix, the torch gets passed and Britain’s Goliath gets put to sleep. I KNOWWWW YOU GOT EM PICKED HAHAHHA.”
Reports of Paul vs. Joshua have been brewing all week, but there were a lot of people who believed “El Gallo” was just grandstanding and using Joshua’s name for clout before an inevitable collapse of negotiations would leave him fighting another old and busted opponent.
That’s not the case this time, it seems.
For years, Paul has been carefully picking opponents who he can look good against. We’ve watched him beat past-their-prime MMA fighters Anderson Silva, Nate Diaz and Tyron Woodley. He added boxing names Mike Tyson and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. over the past year.
And he was supposed to face Gervonta “Tank” Davis before legal issues caused that fight to collapse.
After his Nov. 14 fight with Davis fell apart, Paul was scrambling for another opponent who would generate massive viewership and justify Netflix’s big payments. With little time to negotiate and few options, he may have finally booked himself into a match where he’ll get annihilated.
Indeed, Joshua is one of the greatest Heavyweight boxers on Earth right now, and we learned watching him fight Francis Ngannou that he will not go easy on freak show opponents (not at all!).
“Jake or anyone can get this work,” Joshua said in the press release. “No mercy.”
“I took some time out and I’m coming back with a mega show,” Joshua later added. “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 whilst 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.”
That’s the expectation everyone has coming into this fight, including UFC CEO, Dana White.
”That’s a f–king bad idea,” White said of the Paul vs. Joshua match-up following UFC 322. “That’s a bad idea. But, let me tell you what, a lot of people would watch that one. You know what everybody is tuning in on that one for. I think everybody is finally gonna get what they’ve been waiting for.”