Jake Paul clause designed to 'disadvantage' Joshua

Anthony Joshua will have a weight limit imposed on him for the first time in his career for his December fight on Netflix with Jake Paul, the British fighter's promoter revealed.

One of the agreements leading into the bout is Joshua can weigh no more than 245lbs (111kg) at the official weigh-in but there is no limit to what he can weigh inside the ring on December 19, according to Eddie Hearn.

Hearn told the BBC the clause was supposed to disadvantage his fighter but said he told Most Valuable Promotions co-founder Nakisa Bidarian that Joshua was weighing around 290 pounds in order to get more favourable terms.

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"I spoke to [Joshua] and he was sitting at 265 pounds or something like that. I think I told Nakisa that he was 290 pounds or something like that," Hearn said.

"I said I'm not interested in balloon gloves and two-minute rounds but he said it was a real fight. I asked if it was 10 rounds or eight rounds, they said fine to eight.

"They said: 'The only thing is that Jake will weigh about 220 pounds and we want AJ to come down in weight.'

"He's a heavyweight and hasn't cut weight before. They said: 'Look we're not being funny and it's not that we need an advantage but we need you to have some disadvantage.'"

At the pre-fight news conference on Saturday, Paul predicted he would knock Joshua out.

"I'm here to go out there and shock the world," Paul said. "I know what I'm capable of. People say, 'Oh he's out of his mind.' I've gotten to where I am today because of delusional optimism.

"No one thinks I'm going to win, so join the list and be ready to be shocked."

Paul originally was scheduled to face lightweight champion Gervonta Davis in an exhibition on November 14 at the Kaseya Center in Miami.

But the event was cancelled after a lawsuit filed against Davis by a former girlfriend included accusations of aggravated battery, false imprisonment and kidnapping.