Jake Paul nearly pulled off the impossible. The YouTuber-turned-boxer was sniffing around Anthony Joshua for what could’ve been the most bizarre crossover fight in recent memory—until he swerved and announced a November showdown with Gervonta Davis instead. Typical Jake move: chase the headlines, pick the smaller guy, and leave everyone wondering if he’ll ever step up against a real heavyweight.

Enter Nishant Dev. The rising Matchroom prospect isn’t buying into Paul’s hype one bit. In fact, during an exclusive chat with EssentiallySports, Dev flipped the script—saying Joshua should absolutely fight Paul, not for legacy, but to finally shut the circus down. The Indian star, who’s already turning heads under Eddie Hearn’s banner, reckons AJ could be the man to give Paul a reality check in front of the whole world. In the recent Canelo Alvarez vs Terence Crawford fight, but that did not materialize since he already had a fight coming up. But on the other hand, Dev made some interesting comments about Anthony Joshua and Jake Paul, so let’s take a look at what he had to say.

Nishant Dev wants Anthony Joshua to fight Jake Paul

Nishant Dev appears to be one of those boxers who do not seem the penetration of Jake Paul in the sport. Despite the former Disney star proving that he’s got some pretty credible skills, Dev believes that he’s not a well-versed boxer, and Anthony Joshua can be the one to expose him. “I think Anthony Joshua should take this fight because I believe the Gen Z generation is going [off] now. They believe Jake Paul is a great fighter, but he don’t know about boxing,” the 24-year-old told Andrew Whitelaw during the exclusive interview with EssentiallySports.

Most boxers turn professional after years of training, with most of them starting their boxing endeavor when they were kids. But Jake Paul doesn’t fit that description, and according to Nishant Dev, he should stick to YouTube because he’s fought average opponents. The Indian boxer understands the money Paul’s been able to generate, and he could do the same if he fights Anthony Joshua, but it would end with him getting his head knocked off in a “real” fight.

“He’s just a YouTuber like everyone knows, but, like, he’s trying to be, you know, make some good money and try to think that he’s a great fighter in boxing. But he’s not until he [fights Joshua],” Nishant Dev added. “I think he didn’t fight with anyone great like Anthony Joshua. So I’m sure like, if he’s going to fight Anthony Joshua, it’s going to be a knockout, and then he will realize that’s what real boxing is.”

Before Jake Paul announced the fight against Gervonta Davis, the details about the negotiations he had with Anthony Joshua came to the fore. It appears that there was one thing that ‘AJ’ did not like about Paul’s fight proposal. Let’s take a look at that front.

Joshua wanted a professional fight against Paul

During an interview from last month, Eddie Hearn revealed the terms that Jake Paul and Anthony Joshua had when it came to their potential matchup. While the YouTuber-turned-boxer appeared to propose an exhibition event, ‘AJ’ was not on board with that. Instead, Hearn claims Joshua wanted a real professional fight that would go down in the official records book because exhibitions don’t interest him.

“If we take this fight, it’s a real fight. We’re not going in there as an exhibition or a YouTube match. AJ’s going to prepare like he’s fighting a world champion, and he’s going to go in and he’s going to demolish him, and we’re going to move on,” said Eddie Hearn. “The only thing that can stop this fight from happening right now is Jake Paul all of a sudden not wanting to do it or not fancying it. That’s the only thing; otherwise, this fight is happening.”

While Nishant Dev wants Anthony Joshua to fight Jake Paul, Eddie Hearn claims the YouTube star holds the key to making this fight. Nevertheless, what do you make of the comments Dev made about ‘El Gallo’ during the exclusive interview with EssentiallySports? Drop your comments below.

What do you make of Dev’s comments? Should Joshua take the fight to show Jake Paul “real boxing”? Drop your thoughts below.