Jake Paul vs Anthony Joshua: British heavyweight star weighs inside 245lbs limit for fight against YouTube star

Anthony Joshua has successfully made the weight limit for his fight against Jake Paul but will boast an almost two-stone advantage over the YouTuber-turned-boxer.

Britain's two-time world heavyweight champion, who could not weigh more than 245lbs, tipped the scales at 243.4lbs (17st 5lbs) for his fight against Paul in Miami in the early hours of Saturday UK time.

Paul weighed in at 216lbs (15st 6lbs) ahead of the 14th fight of his boxing career.

AJ is the lightest he has been since his first fight against Oleksandr Usyk in September 2021 when he was 240lbs - but will take on the YouTube star at nearly two stone heavier.

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The American took to the stage first on Thursday for the official weigh-in, flexing his muscles before yelling to the crowd that he was "dialled in".

Former heavyweight of the world AJ by contrast stood confidently and calmly, giving a simple thumbs up to his weight confirmation, capturing his seemingly relaxed approach to Friday's fight.

"I want them [fans] to pray for me, I want them to pray for my opponent 'cause he's going to need it," Joshua told Netflix.

"I'm going to outclass this kid, I'm just going to outclass him.

"I'm a serious fighter, that's the difference, I'm a serious, serious fighter."

Paul suggested he could smell fear in Joshua.

"I see something in his eyes, I truly do," he said.

"The pressure is on him. I'm fighting free, I've already won. This is a lose-lose situation for him."

The eight-round sanctioned fight with 10oz gloves will take place at the Kaseya Center, Florida, with Joshua returning to the ring for the first time since his knockout loss to Daniel Dubois in September 2024.

A 22 x 22 foot ring has also been confirmed, which is larger than the usual 20 feet but still within standard regulation.

This is also only the second time that Paul has weighed in over cruiserweight limit, with the only other time coming when he fought 58-year-old Mike Tyson.

"This is the Giants vs the Patriots 2007," Paul said in the press conference. "I mean, the list goes on, but the odds are stacked against me.

"There's no sporting teams in history that have gone together where it's this big of a difference in terms of skill, experience, resume, height, weight, etc. So this is going to be the biggest upset in the history of sports and you guys get to witness it."

The pair's careers could not be much more different, with Joshua first becoming heavyweight champion of the world in 2016. At that time, his opponent was just 19 years old and had starred on a Disney Channel show.

But in 2020, Paul made his professional boxing debut and now holds a record of 12-1, with his only loss coming to Tommy Fury, Tyson Fury's younger brother, in 2023.

Does Paul really have a chance?

Paul has been sparring with some top heavyweight contenders to prepare for this fight, including former world champion Lawrence Okolie.

Okolie, who has won world titles at cruiserweight and bridgerweight, admitted he was surprised by Paul's boxing skills after spending a training camp with him.

"They ran a great camp there," Okolie said. "It looked like any world title camp I've ever seen, or held myself.

"He's way better now than when I first saw him. Genuinely I was scared for him when they said he was going to fight AJ.

"If he boxes how he sparred, he's got a good chance of looking really good.

"Jake is a lot better than I thought. I think he's got a very good boxing brain, good application, and good grit.

"I think the fight depends on the first two or three rounds and how he approaches them. If he approaches them how he did in sparring then he's got a very good chance and he's going to look great. People are going to be very shocked."

'I'm more important for boxing than AJ!'

Joshua admits he can understand why some boxing fans want him to put an end to 'the Jake Paul show', but Paul insists he has positively influenced the sport.

"No one has done more for the sport of boxing in the last decade than myself," Paul said.

"So if people cared about boxing they would want me to win.

"But I see the angle they're coming from in the sense he's been doing it all his life.

"But I think that I'm more important for boxing so if they cared about the sport they would want me to win."

(c) Sky Sports 2025: Jake Paul vs Anthony Joshua: British heavyweight star weighs inside 245lbs limit for fight against YouTube star