The long-awaited return of two-time unified world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua has been made official, but not many expected Jake Paul to be in the opposite corner.
Joshua is set to face the Youtuber-turned-fighter in an eight round heavyweight bout on Friday December 19 at the Kaseya Center in Miami — the latest high-profile event to be shown on Netflix via Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions.
The 36-year-old Olympic Gold Medalist from Watford has been out of action since he suffered the fourth defeat of his career to former IBF heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois in September 2024.
It has been revealed that the controversial main event will be a sanctioned professional bout, eight rounds and with 10oz gloves. There is, however, one notable stipulation.
As revealed on Sky Sports by Most Valuable Promotions CEO Nakisa Bidarian, ‘AJ’ will face a restriction on his weight for the first time in his career.
“So there’s a lot of discussions around the weight. Joshua fought Usyk twice. Both of those times Usyk was 221 pounds, Joshua was 240-245. When Jake fought Mike Tyson last year [he was] 227 pounds. I expect Jake will come in anywhere between 225 and 230, and Anthony Joshua has a weight limit of 245 pounds.”
Whilst it remains to be seen whether this condition will have an impact on ‘AJ’, the 36-year-old weighed in at 252.5lbs ahead of his last outing against Daniel Dubois.
As for Paul, the 28-year-old weighed in at 198.5lbs ahead of his June showdown with Julio Cesar Chavez Jr, although he did weigh a career heaviest of 228.25lbs before he faced Mike Tyson last November.
