Jake Paul’s right-hand man has declared the Anthony Joshua fight to be ‘much bigger’ than the Briton’s long-awaited showdown with Tyson Fury – adding ‘The Gypsy King’ could be next for boxing’s chief disruptor.
Nakisa Bidarian, Paul’s business partner and chief executive of Most Valuable Promotions [MVP], was at the centre of the deal that rocked boxing last week. On Monday, it became official with the two-time heavyweight champion Joshua taking on YouTuber-turned-fighter Paul under professional boxing rules on 19 December in Miami.
With the sport still reeling, Joshua has been accused of damaging a legacy he has proudly built over the last 15 years. Paul, who has just 13 fights under his belt, losing one of those to another relative novice in Tommy Fury, has been told he is risking his life stepping into the ring with one of the division’s most ferocious operators who has made a career out of rendering people unconscious.
Paul vs Joshua (the American’s name is first on the billing) is dividing the sport like no other contest. But in a year where Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev dazzled us for a second time and Terence Crawford made history against Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez, their December spectacle will demand the most attention.
It comes with talk of Joshua vs Fury once again reigniting with boxing shot caller Turki Al-Sheikh recently hinting the Battle of Britain will finally be delivered in 2026.
But Bidarian confidently proclaims Paul vs Joshua will ‘dwarf’ the heavyweight fight boxing has waited so long for on a global scale.
Metro sat down with Paul’s close friend in London this week for a wide-ranging interview, including Joshua and Fury, his defiant response to those questioning the legitimacy of Paul’s fights and accusations of ‘rigging’ past contests and the truth behind negotiations with Paul’s old foe Tommy Fury.
Nakisa Bidarian interview: At a glance
Paul will target Tyson Fury after Joshua fight: ‘He wants both Furys’
‘Paul vs Joshua is a much bigger fight than Joshua vs Fury,’ Bidarian said. ‘It is not even close. Neither of those names matter in the US on a major basis. In the UK, yeah, maybe it’s a bigger fight here. But globally, Jake vs Joshua dwarfs Joshua vs Fury.’
Paul is already ranked in the cruiserweight division, eligible for a world title shot after his victory over Julio Cesar Chavez Jr in June.
A heavyweight ranking is now firmly among Paul’s targets – along with former WBC champion Fury should he provide a credible account of himself against Joshua.
‘After this fight, if he beats Anthony Joshua or shows well against him, he should be ranked in both divisions. If he beats him, who can deny him a title shot? The long-term picture is becoming champion and doing massive events. If he beats AJ, he is going to want to fight both Furys, not just one. Seriously.’
Eight opponents approached before AJ agreement, including Tommy Fury
Paul has spent the last three months preparing for a fight with Gervonta Davis, a bout that was scrapped two weeks before the opening bell after ‘Tank’ was accused of battery, false imprisonment and kidnapping in a civil lawsuit. Paul, Bidarian and Netflix quickly began the task of drawing up a list of potential replacements with newly-crowned super-middleweight king Crawford among those to say yes.
‘We went out to eight names,’ Bidarian explained. ‘AJ was one of the top names on the list which was him, Crawford, Ryan Garcia. Tommy Fury was also on the list, an offer was made to him.
‘Ryan wanted to do it. Both him and AJ said to Jake, “yes, I’m in.” That was speedy but what was also speedy was DAZN not agreeing to Ryan Garcia being part of the conversation. Terence Crawford wanted to do the fight, but we just couldn’t come to any terms that made sense at this point in time.’
Since the announcement, Paul and Tommy Fury have clashed on social media over claims the Briton turned down an offer, complicated by his ban from entering the US for legal reasons.
Bidarian claims however Fury’s demands were met, only for Paul’s camp be told they needed more time.
‘Tommy has always had a problem getting to the US. That is nothing new. The problem that was presented is that for the last year, they have had a number. And that number needed to be met. And to Jake’s credit he agreed to meet that number. They then said, “there is not enough time”. That tells you all you need to know about Tommy Fury.’
Former Joshua opponents will be invited to join Paul camp – except one
Shakur Stevenson was among those sparring with Paul in the lead up to his fight with lightweight champion Davis – a man almost half Joshua’s weight and a foot shorter. Bigger targets will now be enlisted for sparring with Lawrence Okolie already among those putting his name forward for a winter trip to Puerto Rico where Paul is based.
Bidarian confirmed former opponents of Joshua will also be considered – although Daniel Dubois is unlikely to be in the frame given the close links between his new trainer, the hugely respected Tony Sims and Matchroom, who have proudly promoted Joshua his entire career.
‘It depends who it is,’ he said. ‘For example, Daniel Dubois has a new trainer, Tony Sims. Tony Sims trains out of the Matchroom boxing gym, we are not going to be looking to bring Tony Sims and Daniel Dubois into camp to be honest. Because it is boxing and it is a tight-knit community. But for sure he is going to have former champions and former opponents of Joshua [in camp].’
‘Boxing has systemic problems bigger than Jake Paul’
Former fighters have been queuing up to warn Paul he is risking life and limb in this fight with a palpable fear boxing’s already muddied reputation is at risk of being further undermined.
Bidarian hears the concern for Paul’s well-being but is unmoved. He insists there is a bigger problem at play, a trend as old as time in the sport whereby ‘tomato can’ journeymen are fed to emerging prospects with the sole purpose of ‘getting beat up and knocked out’.
‘My concern for all those people is, why are you not concerned about what boxing is? By the fact promoters constantly put prospects and contenders on a trajectory where they fight absolute tomato cans who are journeymen, men paid to lose effectively.
‘That’s the systemic problem. Jake Paul is not going in there to get beat up or knocked out. He’s going into win. This is not a concern for me. What is a concern for me is people paying attention to this but not giving a damn about boxing a whole and its systemic issues.’
Bidarian pulled up the record of former heavyweight Michael Sprott, a former British and Commonwealth champion. Sprott held those titles in 2004 and also challenged at European level but had already lost 21 times by the time he fought 25-year-old Joshua, then a terrifying prospect, at the age of 39 in 2014. Sprott fought six more times after that first round knockout defeat, losing them all before retiring in 2018.
Last week, Robert Smith, general secretary of the British Boxing Board of Control said he was ‘totally against’ Paul vs Joshua, insisting it would never be sanctioned on British soil.
Bidarian counters by claiming fights like the Sprott contest over a decade ago make less sense being sanctioned than Paul vs Joshua.
‘He [Sprott] was an opponent there to get knocked out,’ he said. ‘The British Boxing Board of Control should not have been sanctioning this guy. Because he was there to take damage and lose. That is the real problem with safety in boxing, not with guys who are actually going into there to win.’
Bidarian responds to ‘fight-rigging’ accusations
Paul’s past opponents include a former NBA player, retired MMA fighters, semi-retired or inactive unknowns and a 59-year-old Mike Tyson. Throughout Paul’s journey in boxing, there have been accusations of fights being scripted and the existence of secret clauses to protect Paul, claims MVP chief Bidaridan strongly dismisses.
‘Jake Paul has 13 fights. The only time we have done anything that is different to traditional men’s boxing was with Mike Tyson, which was the commission [the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulations] approving two-minute rounds instead of three-minute rounds,’ he said.
‘And instead of 10oz gloves we had the commission approve 14oz gloves and they still sanctioned it as a professional fight. So if that is rigging a fight., then we rigged that fight, I guess. Because it gave Mike, not Jake, the advantage to do two-minute rounds instead of three. And it gave Mike, not Jake, the advantage of having 14oz gloves, because we recognised he is 58 and didn’t want him getting hit with a 10oz glove that has much more impact. That is the only time in our 13 fights we have done anything that is an anomaly. And that was all done for Mike’s benefit.’
Is Anthony Joshua’s career over if he loses?
‘Joshua has already lost to Andy Ruiz Jr, he was knocked out by Dubois, he lost twice to Oleksandr Usyk. He has shown he is beatable,’ Bidarian concluded. ‘If he loses to Jake Paul, what does that do? It shows that his time is nearing an end. It doesn’t change what he has accomplished. But it does damage his future if he loses to Jake Paul.’