Anthony Joshua could receive a career-high pay day to fight Jake Paul as their teams continue to hold talks over a bout in 2026.

Eddie Hearn, Joshua’s promoter, says it is likely the fight could be the Briton’s next.

Joshua is a two-time heavyweight world champion with 32 professional fights, while American Paul, who rose to fame on YouTube, has 13 bouts to his name.

“At first I thought it was a publicity stunt from Jake and now the more I speak to them the more I actually understand – Jake Paul thinks he can beat Anthony Joshua,” Hearn told BBC Sport.

“This is a step too far. So be careful what you wish for, because this isn’t a game.

“This isn’t YouTube. This isn’t Disney. This is the danger zone.”

Both teams denied conditions could be part of the fight, like when Paul fought long-retired and then 58-year-old Mike Tyson last November.

That contest had bigger gloves and a maximum of eight rounds, each limited to two minutes.

Most Valuable Promotions CEO Nakisa Bardian, who set up MVP with 28-year-old Paul, says he is “not worried about safety at all”.

“This would be pursued as a straight up professional fight,” said Bidarian.

“I think there’s certainly an experience gap between the two of them in terms of where they’re at in their career.

“From my prospective, Joshua’s an active heavyweight.

“The likelihood of Anthony Joshua being able to land a heavyweight punch is much higher than what Mike Tyson had.

“I want to give Jake as much time as possible to improve on his boxing skillset to be able to effectively neutralise that main attribute of Anthony Joshua.

“My ask of him is to wait longer to do it. But when an opportunity is there, sometimes if you don’t take it, it never comes back.”