The rules for Anthony Joshua vs Jake Paul are now confirmed following Friday’s first press conference to officially announce that December 19 megafight.
Joshua and Paul came face to face for the first time at the Kaseya Center, where they will meet in the biggest fight of 2025 next month, to be streamed live on Netflix.
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This is not your average heavyweight fight of course – it pits a two-time world heavyweight champion still fighting at elite level against a 12-1 Youtuber turned fighter. The gulf in class ‘should’ be enormous.
With many experts believing the matchup is actually dangerous and/or unsafe for the 28-year-old Paul, the rules were eagerly awaited after the bout was officially announced.
Joshua vs Jake Paul rules
We found out on Monday pretty much immediately after the news broke, that this will be an 8-round fight with each round lasting 3 minutes. And it will be a fight – not an exhibition. That is a very important distinction to make, it will count on the professional records of both men. We also found out that both men will wear 10oz gloves.
The other big news was confirmed on Friday – and it confirms the weight. Heavyweight bouts normally do not have an upper weight limit, but this time there will be one in play. Joshua must not weigh more than 111kg or 245lbs (17st 7lbs) at the official weigh-in on Thursday December 18.
We also got confirmation on Friday that there will though be no rehydration clause – which means AJ can put as much weight on as he likes between the official weigh-in and the fight.
Rehydration clauses of course are very much a hot topic right now – with many blaming just such a clause for Chris Eubank Jr’s performance in his loss to Conor Benn last Saturday night in London. The clause for that fight stipulated that Eubank could not gain more than 10lbs between the weigh-in and subsequent weight check on the morning of the fight.
Joshua has been fighting at anywhere between 250 and 255 lbs during the last three years – you have to go back to his 2022 rematch vs Oleksandr Usyk to find the last time he tipped the scales at less than 245lbs.
