Celebrity pugilist Jake Paul will box former two-time unified world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua on Netflix, an eight-round showdown scheduled for Fri., Dec. 19, 2025 from inside Kaseya Center in Miami,
Florida. Judging by their first staredown (see it here ), Paul will be giving up several inches in both height and reach — which could prove fatal when you also factor in the disparity in their respective skill sets.
That’s why MVP boss Nakisa Bidarian begged fellow promoter Eddie Hearn for “some disadvantage.”
“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 told BBC 5 Live. “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,” Hearn continued. “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.‘”
The Olympian has a history of annihilating part-time pugilists with dreams of “sweet science” superstardom.
Joshua (28-4, 25 KOs) took over for Gervonta Davis, who was previously booked to battle Paul in “The Sunshine State” but got bounced over legals issues (more on that here). Former UFC heavyweight champion, Francis Ngannou, got approached to take over for “Tank” but scoffed at the idea, paving the way for “AJ.”
