Promoter Frank Warren says Tony Yoka is one of the options for Anthony Joshua to fight after his next potential clash against Jake Paul. Warren says the 2016 Olympic gold medalist Yoka (14-3, 11 KOs) has “resurrected his career,” and he’s now signed with Queensberry.
“I think the one everyone is looking at is Jake Paul. That seems to be the fight and the way it’s going. Tony is there and he’ll fight anyone,” said promoter Frank Warren to The Stomping Ground, discussing the talk that has been floating around about a fight between 2016 Olympic gold medalist Tony Yoka and Anthony Joshua.
Tony Yoka’s Career Resurrection
Tony Yoka could come next for Joshua after his clash against Jake Paul. Of course, if Tyson Fury wants to emerge from retirement, he can be next for Joshua, but it doesn’t look promising for this year.
“He’s resurrected his career, and he’s with us and he’s with us for a reason because we can deliver some serious fights and opportunities,” said Warren about Tony Yoka.
The 2016 Olympic gold medalist Yoka has won his last three fights since losing three in a row from 2022 to 2023. Granted, the fighters that Yoka, 6’7″, has beaten recently aren’t big names, but he showed that he was in vintage form with his wins, knocking out two of them.
“It’s a fight I never thought of. It came out of the blue, but it’s intriguing,” said Warren about a clash between Anthony Joshua and Jake Paul. “From Jake’s perspective, he’s had a lot of criticism. He is a pro boxer now. He trains as a pro and fights as a pro.”
It’s excellent that Joshua and Eddie Hearn recognize how big a fight it will be to face Jake Paul. It’ll easily eclipse every fight that Joshua has had as a professional. Paul brings in non-boxing fans, who are his followers, and is the perfect opportunity to grow the sport. AJ is thinking about the money, and this could bring in a giant payday on Netflix or wherever it’s shown.
AJ vs Jake Paul Crossover
“I’ve seen some of the stuff, ‘When is he going to fight someone?’ He’s gone from one extreme to the other. That’s what he’s doing. So, if that fight happens, you’ve got to take your hat off to him,” said Warren about Jake Paul in the position of getting a massive fight against Joshua.
That’s going to be a fantastic fight between Joshua and the massively popular Jake Paul. With Jake’s massive social media following, his battle against AJ could easily bring in far bigger numbers than the Canelo Alvarez vs. Terence Crawford event this year. You could imagine how Turki Alalshikh will be fuming about that.
The Tyson Fury Question
“I’d much rather see AJ fight Tyson, but we don’t know if that’s going to happen,” said Warren when asked if he’d rather see Joshua fight Andre Ward or Tyson Fury. “The big man [Fury] is filming. He’s not made up his mind what he’s going to do. He said he certainly won’t fight this year.”
It’s just as well that Fury doesn’t fight for the remainder of the year. Joshua is going to be busy fighting Jake Paul next, and who knows if AJ can squeeze a clash against Tony Yoka before the end of 2025.
Then there’s the possibility of Joshua fighting Andre Ward if he chooses to go in that direction. That would be an intriguing fight that would attract a lot of interest. Anthony has got a full plate of big fights available to him.
