Eddie Hearn says Anthony Joshua is already locked in on weight for his eight-round fight against Jake Paul on December 19th in Miami, Florida. He’s not worried about Joshua missing weight or overlooking Paul for their eight-round bout on Netflix.
AJ Already on Weight
Joshua (28-4, 25 KOs) needed to get his weight down from the low 250s, where it’s steadily been, and is already below that at an unofficial 243.8 lbs on his personal scale.
Hearn: “Dialed In”
Matchroom promoter Hearn told talkSport that Joshua is “Dialed in” at 244-245 lbs for his fight against Jake Paul on December 19th. He says AJ is ready to “make a statement,” suggesting that he’s going to score a quick knockout.
Hearn has said in interviews that he pictures Joshua coming to the center of the ring and knocking out Paul (12-1, 7 KOs) with a single shot to the head.
One Shot Finish Talk
Eddie views it as similar to the contest in which Joshua knocked out former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou. That was a second-round knockout on March 8, 2024. In that fight, Ngannou was down once in round one and twice in round two before the contest was halted.
That was a year ago against a raw boxer, in Ngannou, who made the mistake of fighting out of the southpaw stance. It was a crazy thing for him to try in just his second fight of his pro career. Joshua made him pay for it. Paul isn’t going to do something wacky like that and give Joshua even more of an advantage than he already has.
KO Statement Incoming?
“He’s definitely going to knock him out,” said Roy Jones Jr. to Fighthype, predicting that Joshua will knock out Paul. “Jake is smart and has the power. He knows if he catches AJ first, he can get AJ out. But he’s not going to catch AJ first just like Ngannou couldn’t get AJ first.
“AJ has been boxing for a long time. He’s better than what you give him credit for,” said Roy Jr.