Anthony Joshua and Jake Paul are finalising a deal to meet in a heavyweight fight in Miami this December, sources have told the Guardian. The bout is expected to be announced by Netflix on Monday, with the fight taking place on either 19 or 26 December.
Paul had originally been scheduled to fight Gervonta Davis on 14 November, but the event was cancelled after Davis was removed from the card amid domestic violence allegations. Davis’s former partner, Courtney Rossel, filed a civil lawsuit accusing him of battery, false imprisonment and kidnapping, among other charges. Miami Gardens police are investigating the alleged incident.
Most Valuable Promotions and Netflix scrapped the show soon after the lawsuit became public. Paul responded by publicly criticising Davis on social media, calling him “an actual walking human piece of garbage” and apologising to undercard fighters and staff affected by the cancellation.
After Davis’s withdrawal, Paul’s team explored other opponents, including Ryan Garcia and Terence Crawford. Talks then accelerated with Joshua, the former two-time unified heavyweight champion, who has not fought since being stopped by Daniel Dubois in September 2024. Joshua’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, had said the 36-year-old hoped to return before the end of the year.
A source familiar with the deal said Netflix expects to lock in the exact date before Monday’s announcement. The fight is set to take place in Miami and stream globally on the platform. Netflix’s first boxing show – Paul’s bout with Mike Tyson – became the most-streamed sporting event in history, peaking at 65 million live concurrent streams and drawing an estimated 108 million average live viewers worldwide.
