It looks like the Jake Paul-Anthony Joshua saga will soon make Gervonta Davis a distant memory. The lightweight champion and Paul had a ten-round exhibition scheduled at Miami’s Kaseya Center tonight. But as fate would have it, the Netflix card went asunder after reports of Davis’ alleged involvement in domestic violence emerged. And in stepped the former unified heavyweight champion. Of course the road to face-off was filled with hurdles. From Ryan Garcia to Francis Ngannou and many others, Joshua had to seemingly fend off a string of challenges to clinch the pole position.

But as it usually happens, there’s more to the story than meets the eye. If boxing insider Rick Glaser’s updates are true, then Jake Paul and his team at Most Valuable Promotions (MVP) went out of their way to guarantee a head start for Anthony Joshua. They tackled the biggest obstacle in the way – the DAZN broadcast deal that reportedly prevented Oscar De la Hoya from allowing Ryan Garcia’s participation to ensure the former champion joined the December joyride.

Collect the check and let me face Joshua – Jake Paul challenges DAZN

Glaser made it clear. The information was largely based on what Eddie Hearn, who promotes Joshua, told a few sources back in the UK. So rumoredly, the Matchroom boss revealed how Jake Paul and MVP paid a huge amount to DAZN so that Anthony Joshua could fight on the December Netflix card. “Here’s something very interesting, @EddieHearm is telling Boxing sources in the UK @nakisa_bidarian’s & Jake Paul’s MVP paid DAZN a massive fee to allow Anthony Joshua to fight on Netflix,” Glaser wrote.

The next part is something most fans already know. It will be a proper heavyweight duel, not an exhibition like the one scheduled against Gervonta Davis. Despite recent setbacks, Joshua still remains one of Great Britain’s biggest draws. So perhaps Eddie Hearn felt a Netflix fight could potentially soar the Olympic gold medalist’s popularity, Glaser added.

“And Eddie Hearn wants the @Netflix exposure to show Anthony Joshua still has Star Power, even after that brutal KO loss to Daniel Dubois in what will be 15 months ago,” he said while speaking about Joshua’s terrible fifth-round knockout loss to Daniel Dubois last September.

According to Ring Magazine’s boxing insider Mike Coppinger, Jake Paul vs. Anthony Joshua is scheduled to take place on December 19.

Anthony Joshua vs. Jake Paul – confirmed or just talk?

So that’s slightly over a month before the duo steps into the ring. The situation still remains confusing. On one hand, fans have to contend with reports from Rick Glaser and Mike Coppinger, who suggest the fight is going to happen. “It’s a done deal,” Coppinger replied when a user raised doubts over the matchup.

But on the other hand, there are conflicting statements from Eddie Hearn.

Speaking with The Sun, he’s reported to have said, “It’s definitely not finalized. There’s a lot of conversations to be had. Is Jake Paul for real? If he is, it would be very difficult for us to ignore the amount of money being discussed.”

To that end, Hearn had already hinted at Joshua entering a fight by this year’s end. The former champion underwent shoulder surgery a few months ago. So it appeared he might return only by next year.

And Hearn couldn’t have made it more clear when he said, “It’s only 50/50 at this point.” By the same token, he added, “But if Jake Paul is mad enough to do it, it’s very likely we’ll oblige. AJ’s not playing games. This ain’t an exhibition. This will be a real fight.”

So fans might as well wait and watch till further developments emerge.

Do you think AJ will give Jake Paul a similar beatdown to the one he gave Francis Ngannou last year?