Anthony Joshua has found himself in a demanding race against time as he prepares to shed a significant amount of weight ahead of his highly anticipated bout with Jake Paul in Miami on 19 December.
The agreement for Anthony Joshua and Jake Paul’s bouts was finalised earlier in the month. The pair will meet over eight three-minute rounds, with both fighters required to wear 10-oz gloves.
The surprising stipulation is Joshua’s weight limit. The 36-year-old former world champion has been ordered to come in no heavier than 245lb. He is currently hovering at around 265lb, leaving him to cut roughly 20lb in under three weeks if the bout is to go ahead as planned.
The condition stunned many fans, who are more accustomed to seeing Joshua operate at his natural heavyweight frame.
His promoter, Eddie Hearn, speaking to BBC 5 Live, shed more light on the situation. “I spoke to [Joshua] and he was sitting at 265 pounds or something like that. I think I told Nakisa that he was 290 pounds or something like that,” he said.
Hearn revealed that he initially resisted suggestions of altered terms. He said, “I said I’m not interested in balloon gloves and two-minute rounds but he said it was a real fight. I asked if it was 10 rounds or eight rounds, and they said fine to eight.
“They said: ‘The only thing is that Jake will weigh about 220 pounds and we want AJ to come down in weight.’ He’s a heavyweight and hasn’t cut weight before. They said: ‘Look we’re not being funny and it’s not that we need an advantage but we need you to have some disadvantage.’”
Despite the hefty demand, Joshua appears more than willing to take on the challenge.
According to the Daily Mail, the prize pot for the contest stands at an eye-watering £140 million, with both men set to earn up to £70 million each. Joshua has also brought in former rival Oleksandr Usyk to help him prepare, a sign of how seriously he is treating the occasion.
The fighters came face-to-face in Miami shortly after the announcement, offering a glimpse of the stark contrast in their physiques.
Joshua towered over Paul, further fuelling expectations that the bout could be a brief affair, with many predicting a dominant performance from the Nigerian-born British heavyweight.
Joshua himself has not hidden his intentions. “It’s not a win for me if I just beat him; I need to knock him out,” he said. “I’m going to break his face and break his body. I’m here to prove I’m the better fighter and will do that until I stop fighting. I’m going to go in there and do a job. I want to hurt him, I’m going to want to really hurt him in the ring.”
