Anthony Joshua vs Jake Paul would tempt a ‘lot of people’ to watch the fight, says the British heavyweight’s promoter Eddie Hearn.

The YouTuber turned professional fighter called for an audacious clash against Joshua, a two-time world champion, in the aftermath of his unanimous decision win over Julio Cesar Chavez Jnr last weekend.

Joshua is expected to return in November or December this year after elbow surgery and Hearn admitted that a future showdown with Paul would create massive public demand and financial reward.

“I think you have to give Jake his props and look he’s a disruptor, he wants to create mad moments,” Hearn told Sky Sports.

“If he wants to be mad enough to get in the ring with Anthony Joshua and make several tens of potentially hundreds of millions, he will do it, Jake Paul.

“Will AJ? He’s his own man, but I will be saying, ‘Yeah, go on mate. Go and deal with this guy. Get him out of the game.’

“I think a lot of people will tune in to watch. Is it a fight that I think should be happening? No, not really, but we live in a completely crazy world, especially in the world of boxing where you just never know.”

Paul has said: “Anthony Joshua is an insane fight, but I want that challenge.

“We’ve been DM-ing back and forth. He wants to make it happen. He called me up and it’s looking very likely for next year.”

Paul can challenge for world title

Paul, who fights at cruiserweight, would have to step up in weight for a Joshua fight.

But he has now entered the World Boxing Association’s cruiserweight rankings at No 14, making him eligible to challenge WBA champion Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez.

“I want tougher fighters. I want to be a world champion,” Paul said after defeating Chavez.

“Zurdo looked slow tonight. That’d be easy work, too.”

Hearn insisted that Paul deserves credit for a career-best performance against Chavez, a former WBC middleweight champion.

He said: “I’ve surprised myself this week because I haven’t given him the respect that I think he deserves, which is look this guy has been fighting for a while now in big events around the world.

“He went into the game as a complete novice. I think he’s made big improvements as a boxer. I think he’s taking things seriously. I don’t think he’s a YouTuber anymore. I think he’s a professional boxer.

“Is he top 15 in the world? Don’t be so ridiculous. But is he top 100 in the world? Maybe and by the way, I know that might not sound as a compliment, that’s a big compliment.

“I think his [boxing] IQ is improving. I think he can whack. I think he can take a shot. He beat Chavez who is a washed up guy but he was a former world champion that did train for that fight.”