Jake Paul vs. Anthony Joshua creates new size issue

Jake Paul has found a new opponent for his next boxing match, and the scale remains a relevant object.

Paul is finalizing a fight with Anthony Joshua, the British heavyweight who has fought at 250 pounds or more during his past five bouts.

Gervonta Davis, who was scheduled to fight Paul on Nov. 14 before the exhibition was canceled, weighed 135 pounds for previous bouts.

The quick math: that’s more than a 100-pound difference from the old opponent (Davis) to the new one (Joshua) for a bout that will be livestreamed by Netflix.

Jake Paul vs Anthony Joshua size: Height, weight for boxers

Paul typically fights as a cruiserweight, which carries a maximum weight limit of 200 pounds. He has fought as a heavyweight just once, against Mike Tyson last year. He weighed in at 227  pounds and won by unanimous decision over Tyson, who weighed in 228 ½ pounds.

More size issues: Joshua is 6-6, Paul is 6-1.

Height and weight won’t be the only differentiators. Joshua is a two-time world heavyweight champion, having unified the title between 2017 and 2019 and 2019 and 2021. He also figures to be Paul’s toughest opponent yet.

But Joshua, 36, has faltered in recent years. He’s coming off a fifth-round knockout loss to Daniel Dubois during which Joshua got knocked down four times during the bout Sept. 21, 2024. Joshua is 28-4 with 25 knockouts.

Paul, 28, is coming off a victory over Julio Cesar Chavez on June 28. He has won his past six fights, dating back to his only loss – against Tommy Fury by unanimous decision in 2023. He is 12-1 with seven knockouts.

Unlike Paul, Joshua has faced some of the world’s top heavyweights. He lost to Oleksandr Usyk, the current undisputed heavyweight champion, by unanimous decision in 2021 and lost to Usyk again in 2022 by split decision.

Joshua then won four straight fights, including a brutal knockout of Francis Ngannou in 2024. But that preceded his humbling loss to Dubois.

Competing in the Super-Heavyweight division, Joshua won a gold medal at the 2012 Olympics. He turned pro in 2013 and went 22-0 before a shocking TKO loss to Andy Ruiz in 2019.

Paul turned pro in 2020 and has knocked down every opponent except Tyson. But only five of Paul’s 12 opponents were boxers.