Bold claim: the road to Jake Paul’s next big payday was never a straight line, and the detours reveal as much about the sport as any knockout. Joshua vs. Paul wasn’t the only marquee matchup close to fruition, and the path to Crawford or Pereira shows how timing, branding, and leverage shape fight spectacles just as much as skill in the ring. Here’s a fresh take that preserves the facts while clarifying the moves behind the scenes.
After Jake Paul’s planned clash with Gervonta Davis fell apart amid Davis’s legal issues, the young boxing star pivoted quickly, aiming to land another high-profile opponent before 2025 ends. Several prospective foes were in the mix, but the eventual choice was a showdown with former unified heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua. The bout is set for Friday at the Kaseya Center in Miami and will be streamed on Netflix.
Paul reflected that he didn’t anticipate this particular matchup for the year, noting that the broader plan had always been to fight Davis first, then Joshua. “But the plan got accelerated,” he told ESPN, signaling a willingness to push big plans forward when the moment aligns.
Crucially, Paul disclosed that he nearly locked in a fight with Terence Crawford, the three-division undisputed champion, instead of Joshua. The sticking point wasn’t talent or demand but timing and promotional strategy. He indicated the Crawford deal nearly came together, but clock constraints and the desire to market the fight properly diverted them to Joshua for now, with a potential Joshua-Crawford clash on the horizon for 2026 if schedules permit.
Crawford has repeatedly appeared on Paul’s evolving “hit list” of desired opponents. Paul first publicized the list in 2021, and he has since fought six of the twelve names he’s targeted. Joshua and Crawford remain on the updated list, along with other big names who have sparked discussion in the process. One fighter who briefly joined the conversation for a December bout but wasn’t on the list was Francis Ngannou, the former UFC heavyweight champion.
An offer to Ngannou to face Paul materialized after the Davis fight fell through, but Ngannou declined, telling TMZ he felt disrespected by the proposal and wasn’t interested in stepping into a boxing ring with Paul.
Paul described his reaction to Ngannou’s decision as surprised, suggesting that Ngannou’s choices might prove costly in the long run. He asserted that a strong performance against Joshua could expose Ngannou’s limitations and underscored his belief that Ngannou’s move was a miscalculation.
While the Joshua matchup is imminent, Paul kept an eye on another name that has long been on his radar: UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira. Pereira is the lone MMA fighter currently on Paul’s renewed hit list, though marrying a boxing date with a UFC star remains challenging. The primary obstacle is Pereira’s UFC contract and Paul’s public friction with UFC president Dana White.
Yet there may be a glimmer of possibility. White’s foray into boxing through Zuffa Boxing in 2026 could open a door for crossovers like Paul vs. Pereira. Paul himself acknowledged that White’s promotion could facilitate a pathway for such a clash, even if he remains unsure whether the UFC would permit one of their top MMA talents to compete in a boxing match again. He confessed he would be ecstatic if it happened but warned that a loss for a UFC superstar against a “Disney kid” would not be ideal for the UFC’s business interests.
What this all suggests is that the future of Paul’s boxing ambitions hinges as much on the politics of promotion and cross-sport negotiations as on ring prowess. If the stars align, fans could witness a rare intersection of boxing and MMA top-tier talents in a single superstar-centric showdown. Do you think a Crawford or Pereira cross-sport bout would benefit the sport, or would it blur the lines too much? And which matchup would you rather see first: Paul vs. Crawford, Paul vs. Pereira, or a Joshua rematch if Joshua conquers him at the end of 2025? Share your thoughts in the comments.
