Carl Frampton says Anthony Joshua vs. Tony Yoka is the logical next step, with Jake Paul chatter fading for now. Joshua, 35, hasn’t boxed since Daniel Dubois stopped him in five rounds 11 months ago at Wembley in their IBF title fight—his fourth pro defeat and the end of a push to become a three-time world champion.
“A good fight for AJ,” Frampton said, arguing that a Paul matchup would’ve been a “one-round fight” and perhaps the reason “Jake Paul doesn’t fancy it.” With Paul now set for a November exhibition against Gervonta Davis, attention shifts to Yoka, the 33-year-old French Olympic super-heavyweight gold medallist whose pro career hasn’t matched Joshua’s heights.
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“I’d like to see him in a fight like Tony Yoka,” Frampton added. “Two Olympic medallists—you can build a narrative… and it’s a fight that the winner can go on to a bigger and better fight afterwards.”
There’s even a destination in the rumor mill: Africa. Matchroom CEO Frank Smith recently visited a stadium site in Ghana, which has been floated as a potential venue if Joshua–Yoka gets the green light.
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