Friday night at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Jake Paul steps into the ring as the much smaller fighter. He faces Anthony Joshua on Dec. 19. Joshua is a former two time unified heavyweight champion. This is easily the biggest challenge of Paul’s boxing career.
Paul has usually matched up well with past opponents in terms of size. That will not be the case here. Joshua is massive. He stands 6-foot-6 and has an 82-inch reach. Paul is 6-foot-1. Joshua is 5 inches taller and has a 6-inch reach advantage.
Joshua has always been a true heavyweight. For most of his career, he weighed between 250 and 255 pounds. Paul has spent most of his time fighting below 200 pounds.
So many fans are asking the same question: How is this fight between Jake Paul and Anthony Joshua even allowed?
The answer is in the contract.
Even though this is a heavyweight fight, special rules were added to reduce the size difference. Paul weighed in at 216.6 pounds. Joshua was forced to weigh under 245 pounds. He came in at 243.4 pounds.
That still leaves a difference of nearly 27 pounds between them.
Paul is fighting above his usual weight. He normally competes at cruiserweight, which tops out at 200 pounds. He has stepped into heavyweight before, including his fight against Mike Tyson in 2024. For this bout, he bulked up but still remains far lighter than Joshua.
Joshua, on the other hand, had to slim down. He is used to being much heavier. The contract required him to come in lighter than normal to make the matchup more reasonable.
Even with that restriction, Joshua will still look much bigger in the ring.
The fight is fully sanctioned by the Florida Athletic Commission. Heavyweight boxing starts at anything over 200 pounds and has no upper limit. Since both fighters are above that mark, the bout is legal.
Paul is allowed to come in at whatever weight he chooses. Joshua is the only one with a cap. That is the key compromise that made the fight possible.
Joshua has been a heavyweight his entire career. He won Olympic gold in 2012. He later became a two time unified champion as a professional. He has faced elite fighters and carried serious power for years.
Paul is taking a massive leap in competition. The size gap is real. The experience gap is even bigger.
But on Friday night, both men meet under the same rules. One is moving up. The other is slimming down. And that is how this unusual fight is happening.
