Eddie Hearn Dismisses 'Ridiculous' Conspiracy Theories About Jake Paul vs. Anthony Joshua Fight and Confirms Drug Testing Will Take Place

EDDIE HEARN has shut down any “ridiculous” claims of match fixing or contract stipulations for Anthony Joshua’s fight against Jake Paul.

The two-time heavyweight world champion and YouTuber-turned-boxer are set for a

Anthony Joshua and Jake Paul have signed up to drug testing for their fightCredit: Getty Jake Paul is moving uo to heavyweightCredit: Getty

Paul steps up – who brutally knocked out ex-UFC champion Francis Ngannou in 2024.

So already online conspiracists and sceptics – who constantly question the legitimacy of Paul’s career – fear there must be some kind of agreement in place.

But promoter Eddie Hearn told SunSport: “As the saying goes, he won’t want to play around with his food.

“You never wanna do that. And by the way, I’ve heard people say, ‘I bet there’s something in the contract where you have to take it easy on him.’

“I mean, don’t be so ridiculous. Can you imagine? Also, by the way, that’s illegal. It’s a professional contest.

“You can’t have an agreement about how a fight’s gonna go, that’s called fixing. So we’re going out there.

“I mean. AJ will make the decision what he does. Will he go in there and just sort of just have a look for a minute or so?

“But probably he was supposed to have a look against Francis Ngannou and he dropped him in the first round and then knocked him spark out in the second round.

“And he was a man mountain. So I don’t think AJ’s capable of having a look.

“He’s going to go out there and as soon as Jake Paul gets hit on the chin, clean, the fight’s over.

“And Jake Paul may have a good chin. I do actually think he’s quite tough. But it doesn’t matter.”

Paul, 28, turned professional in just 2020 when Joshua, 36, reigned as the unified heavyweight world champion.

The American has 12 wins and just one loss against Tommy Fury, 26, on his record but has had to

After he beat Mike Tyson – who controversially made a comeback aged 58 last November – organisers put out a statement to deny the false claims.

And following his points victory in June over ex-middleweight world champ Julio Cesar Chavez Jr, 39, Paul hired lawyer Alex Spiro to

Hearn did also confirm strict drug testing is “absolutely” in the fight contract.

Paul was set to face Gervonta Davis, 30, in an exhibition bout in Miami but the troubled lightweight champ was pulled off amid domestic abuse allegations.

And after picking Joshua as the replacement, Nakisa Bidarian, the co-founder of Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions, said

Hearn responded: “I heard Nakisa Bidarian saying, ‘This is a more dangerous fight than Gervonta Davis, but it’s an easier fight because Gervonta’s got speed.’

I’ve heard people say, ‘I bet there’s something in the contract where you have to take it easy on him.’ I mean, don’t be so ridiculous. Can you imagine? Also, by the way, that’s illegal. It’s a professional contest. You can’t have an agreement about how a fight’s gonna go, that’s called fixing.

Eddie Hearn

“I’m like mate, wait till you get in there with AJ. It’s frightening and he’s gonna find out the hard way.”

Joshua has not returned since his September 2024 knockout loss to Daniel Dubois, 28, and was

He had lined up little-known Cassius Chaney, 38, before talks with Paul accelerated and were later finalised.

Joshua heads into the fight – set to earn him £50MILLION – knowing his career and even boxing’s reputation is on the line.

But Hearn does NOT believe Paul will be sent into an early retirement – no matter how brutal things could get.

He said: “I think this is tactical. I think in Jake Paul’s deluded mind, he thinks he can win the fight. He does.

“But I think the team are also thinking, ‘Yeah, but if we get beaten, we’ve got massive respect of the boxing community and we can fight anyone after that, we can come back with an easier fight, we can fight Tommy Fury, we can fight KSI all these other guys.

“But you see, the only thing you’ve gotta be careful of is, this ain’t a game. I’ve watched AJ for 12 years.

“I’ve watched thousands of rounds of sparring, thousands of rounds of pads. This guy hits you on the chin. Careful with the words, but you will know about it.

“And Jake Paul will get flattened in December and there’ll be millions of people around the world tuning in to watch that fight.

“So yeah, people go, is boxing riding on AJ Yeah, I suppose it is. But he won’t let you down.”

Jake Paul was dwarfed by JoshuaCredit: AP