The faceoff between Jake Paul and Anthony Joshua last month during their lone press conference told a story.
A horror story, if you’re pulling for Paul when the two men square off for an eight-round boxing match Dec. 19 at the Kaseya Center in Miami.
Paul contends his quickness and nimble footwork will help offset Joshua’s size, which generates immense power. But it’s hard to escape the images of that faceoff Nov. 21.
Joshua looked all of 6-6, his official height, while Paul seemed shorter than 6-1, his advertised height. As usual, Joshua was built like Adonis and is expected to weigh 245 pounds when he steps into the ring. Paul, who is not built like a Greek god, is expected to weigh in at no more than 220 pounds.
What impact will the size discrepancy have when Paul, the former YouTuber, takes on Joshua, the former two-time heavyweight champion?
“I think skills is what pays the bills,’’ said Hasim Rahman, the former heavyweight champion, also noting that Terence Crawford moved up two weight classes before beating Canelo Alvarez. “So I really don’t think the emphasis should be on the weight.’’
When it comes to skills, Rahman suggested, Joshua has a sizable advantage against Paul.
Joshua faces weight restriction
Joshua will be required to weigh in at no more than 245 pounds the day before the fight. This is widely viewed as an advantage for Paul because Joshua has weighed in as heavy as 255 pounds and no lighter than 250 pounds during his past five fights.
But Joshua recently told TMZ he thinks the weight restriction of 245 pounds will work to his advantage.
“On fight night I may come in a couple of pounds heavier,’’ Joshua said. “If I’m honest with you, I really do like this weight, you know. It’s actually been a blessing in disguise…because I feel good. I look back and I think, what was I doing carrying that weight?’’
Joshua also said he’s derived benefits by pushing himself with his cardio training to get down to 245 pounds.
“That means I’m getting fitter,’’ he said, adding, “It’s not even like I tried to make the weight. We just upped the cardio.’’
The Kryptonite theory
Paul contends that fighting smaller men is Joshua’s Kryptonite. The supposed evidence:
Andy Ruiz Jr., who is 6-2, stunned Joshua by seventh-round TKO in 2019. But Ruiz weighed in at 268 pounds, about 20 pounds more than Joshua did before that fight.
Oleksandr Usyk, who is 6-3, beat Joshua twice – once by unanimous decision and once by split decision. Usyk weighed in at 221 pounds for those fights, about 20 pounds less than Joshua did. But Usyk is undefeated and the world heavyweight champion, whereas Paul has fought as a heavyweight once — in 2024 against Mike Tyson, 58 at the time of the bout.
Daniel Dubois, who is 6-5, knocked Joshua down four times and finished him off by fifth-round TKO in 2024. Dubois weighed 248 pounds, four pounds less than Joshua did. He was not an appreciably smaller man.
But trainer Buddy McGirt doesn’t think Paul will need Kryptonite.
‘Jake can punch,’ McGirt said. “He can punch, but at the same time, he hasn’t been in there with anybody like Joshua. So I’m just going to say … give it a 50-50 shot (of Paul winning the fight). I learned this a long time ago, when you got two guys over 200 pounds, anything could happen.’’