Jake Paul is targeting a blockbuster fight with Anthony Joshua in 2026, despite Eddie Hearn's attempts to bring the bout forward.
The YouTuber-turned-boxer has been leading private talks to face the former heavyweight champion next year.
Joshua's promoter Hearn tried to accelerate the timeline by directly messaging Paul.
However, Paul's promotional partner Nakisa Bidarian revealed the social media star simply ignored Hearn's approach.
Boxing news: Jake Paul is targeting a blockbuster fight with Anthony Joshua in 2026, despite Eddie Hearn's attempts to bring the bout forward
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"I think Eddie Hearn even DMd Jake and said, 'Why not in 2025?' And I'm sure Jake didn't respond to him," Bidarian told The Sun.
Paul, 28, is instead focused on his own career trajectory, with the Joshua fight forming part of his longer-term plans.
Bidarian confirmed there is "zero clickbait" about the potential matchup, stating there is "100 per cent desire to do it in 2026".
Hearn had previously dismissed Paul's talk of fighting Joshua as mere "clickbait" after the American mentioned 2026 as his target date.
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Reuters"Once they said 2026, it's just clickbait at that point," Hearn said.
"I do acknowledge that Jake is crazy enough, like the Canelo stuff was quite crazy.
"But at least Jake's bigger than Canelo. He's dwarfed by AJ in every manner.@
Paul, who defeated Mike Tyson on points in November with a reported 100 million viewers watching on Netflix, is now planning his next moves.
Bidarian indicated Paul will announce a new opponent soon, with another fight targeted for 2025.
This would be followed by three bouts in 2026, potentially including the Joshua showdown.
Bidarian explained that Paul needs more time to prepare for AJ's formidable power, even if the Briton appears to be on the wane following his emphatic defeat to Daniel Dubois last year.
"Jake hasn't been in the ring with someone that has the power that Joshua has in this current time," he said.
"Mike Tyson, much more devastating knockout artist than Anthony Joshua in his career, but the Mike Tyson Jake fought wasn't that same Mike Tyson, obviously.
"Jake has to get to a point where he feels confident that he can take those types of punches from someone like Joshua.
"Joshua is a much bigger man in terms of height and reach than Mike Tyson. And that will possess its own challenges for Jake Paul."
Despite the challenges, Bidarian believes a fight with Joshua is entirely feasible for Paul.
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"I know from Jake's perspective, he doesn't believe that Joshua will land, but you have to be prepared that he does land and how do you deal with that," he continued.
"Jake doesn't say something if he doesn't feel confident about it.
"He's been pretty clear, he doesn't want to fight David Benavidez. He doesn't believe he can beat David Benavidez in any time frame of his career arc."