Anthony Joshua's trainer issues brutal putdown of Jake Paul heavyweight fight

Anthony Joshua's trainer, Ben Davison, has expressed his doubts about the heavyweight star facing off against Jake Paul.

Despite the buzz and potential $40million (£30m) earnings from a bout between the pair, Davison is not sold on the idea. It could perform wonders on pay-per-view sales as it would likely attract millions of fans to tune into the contest.

Speaking to Boxing Scene, Davison said: “I don’t like all that. First and foremost, how can people even talk about that? Two, where’s the safety aspect in boxing? Do you know what I mean? That is a serious risk with something going wrong.

"Unfortunately, it might take something like that for people to be like, 'Hold on, we've got to reconfigure this'. But somebody would pass it; somebody would allow it; somebody would sanction it." Paul, on the other hand, seems so eager for the match-up that he's reportedly willing to take just a one per cent share of the purse. This was disclosed by Alalshikh during an interview on 'The Boxing Voice', where he mentioned Paul's readiness to agree to a 99-1 split in favour of Joshua, reports All Out Fighting.

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"I’m not against what Jake Paul’s doing in boxing, it’s good for boxing to have a young generation," said Alalshikh. “I’m against some kinds of fights he does. I’m now thinking him against Joshua. Joshua, if he destroys (Paul), it will be good for me.

"The headache of Jake Paul goes from my mind. If Jake Paul wins, I will know that Joshua is finished, and Jake Paul deserves his ranking and deserves to have a future in boxing. I don’t want 50-50. In this situation, I want 99-1. Jake Paul has accepted. Now, next week I will talk with Joshua about it.”

Joshua has not stepped into the ring since his knockout defeat to Dubois last September at Wembley Stadium. The 35-year-old is recovering from an elbow surgery and has been seen enjoying life over the past few months. That said, Davision admits the two-time world champion has not stopped training as he gears up for a potential comeback.

"He's the ultimate professional; he's always keen on making sure that he's right; the body's right; the mind's right and all the rest of it," Davison said, praising Joshua's dedication. "He's had a couple of niggles and obviously had a tough fight there and to be honest with you, he's had years of big fights in the heavyweight division and sometimes the rest will do you good as well. It's good to see that [Joshua has been relaxing abroad, but] in that time he'll always be looking after himself but he's also enjoying himself as well."

When is Anthony Joshua's next fight?

Joshua is gearing up for a return to the ring before the end of 2024, with promoter Eddie Hearn revealing that 'AJ' is eager to move forward in his career. Despite chasing a fight with Tyson Fury, Joshua remains optimistic about clashing with the 'Gypsy King' eventually.

In a chat with Sky Sports, Hearn shared updates on Joshua's condition: "Yeah, good, he had that operation recently... that elbow surgery, which went very well. You will see him return in October, November or December." As Joshua prepares for his comeback later this year, Davison will support the Brit should his services be required.

He said: "I've always said from day one with AJ, this is with any of them [my boxers], there's no trainer or fighter contract, it's fight by fight, any fight," he explained. "If they have a bad performance, you don't know what can happen but I'm always there to help him and if he gets a fight, when he gets a fight, we'll see what we can do."