Darren Barker slams 'farcical' Anthony Joshua v Jake Paul showdown as rumours continue to circulate

Former IBF middleweight champion of the world Darren Barker believes a money-spinning dust-up between Anthony Joshua and Jake Paul would be ‘farcical’ for the sport.

Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn has recently revealed that AJ is onboard with lucrative showdown against the social media superstar after he called out the two-time blue-riband division champion on his latest podcast.

The fight would likely generate Joshua over £100 million, but despite that, Barker – who now operates as a television broadcaster – says it’s a fight that he, and millions of other boxing purists, would have no interest in seeing.

“It’s absolute madness, surely that can’t happen,” he told Boxing News' YouTube channel.

“Let’s put this into perspective, I’ve been on the couch for a decade now, and this isn’t me calling out Jake Paul, but I would beat him.

“You might laugh, but I’ve been in and around this sport for years and give me eight or 10 weeks training and I’d beat him, I genuinely believe that I would.

“Anthony Joshua is a two-time heavyweight champion, who is still active – he would destroy Jake Paul. “It wouldn’t go beyond a round, honestly.

“It’s totally silly, and I know that this is topical, but could you imagine it – Anthony Joshua v Jake Paul, it’s a nonsense.”

Despite the ongoing rumours surrounding the potential fight, Barker isn’t convinced that it’s one that will carry too much genuine appeal to Joshua, instead believing a long-mooted showdown with British adversary Tyson Fury as being a far more realistic possibility.

“He has to come back to a big fight, I just don’t think anything else would get the juices flowing,” he added.

“He has already achieved an incredible amount in the sport, he has made more money than he can spend, so it has to be a fight that really gets him going now at this stage of his career.

“He needs an opponent now where he has to go into his camp with a bit on anxiety and worry, and I, in all honesty, am still hoping for the Tyson Fury fight.

“The Deontay Wilder fight is possible, but I just don’t know how much he has left in him, more so from a mental perspective – I just don’t think he wants it anymore.

“My gut feeling is that Fury will come back, and I feel that this fight is the one that, deep down, both, especially Anthony Joshua, will want.

“We know it should have happened years ago but didn’t, but that was the same as Amir Khan and Kell Brook – eventually they got it on and it still put bums on seats, and this will do exactly the same.”

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Mark Mothershaw

• Anthony Joshua
• Matchroom
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