Piers Morgan makes humbling Jake Paul climbdown ahead of potential Anthony Joshua fight

Piers Morgan has clarified comments he made in a recent social media post where he claimed that Jake Paul's boxing career to date had been “boring staged b******” amid speculation the YouTuber turned boxer could soon fight Anthony Joshua.

Paul, 28, initially found fame on YouTube but has won 12 fights since turning his hand to boxing in 2020. The American holds victories over legends Mike Tyson and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr at heavyweight and cruiserweight respectively and has also beaten the former UFC star, Nate Diaz, in a boxing ring.

Not everybody has been won over by Paul's performances in the ring, though, with Morgan taking aim at him recently.

But following suggestions that Paul could be the next person to step into the ring with the former two-time world heavyweight champion, AJ, Morgan has changed his tune.

The former Good Morning Britain host shared a social media post on Saturday where he stressed that his issue with Paul has been his bouts against athletes who are no longer at the peak of their powers; something which would not apply with Joshua, who is still an active fighter.

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“I posted a few weeks ago that Jake Paul’s boxing career has been 'boring staged bullsh*t,“ Morgan wrote in a post on X.

“What I meant is that his fights have been predominantly against older, past-their-prime opponents, which may be lucrative for both sides, and may have entertainment value, but don’t reveal how he stacks up against currently ranked boxers and therefore are not a good look for the sport. I did not intend to suggest that the outcome was predetermined and certainly didn’t mean to suggest anything illegal.

“But if reports are correct that Jake is now in negotiations to fight Anthony Joshua, that would obviously be a seriously credible bout against one of the best heavyweights in the world. Jake is welcome to come on Uncensored to discuss this, and verbally slug it out with me, anytime.”

While talk of a crossover bout between Paul and Joshua has been scoffed at in some quarters, AJ's long-time promoter, Eddie Hearn, recently admitted it could happen.

“This is very real,” he told The Ring. “I had a good chat for about an hour with Nakisa on [July 30] and now I believe they want the fight. I really do.

“Nakisa was very honest and he’s concerned about the fight, but Jake truly believes he can win the fight or at least be competitive in it. And now because of the size of the fight, it leads me to believe there’s a very good chance it could happen. If I had to rate that chance I would say it’s 50:50. It was a very positive conversation and we expect that conversation to extend over the coming weeks. If they really want it, it will happen.”