EDDIE HEARN has claimed Jake Paul and his team wanted Anthony Joshua to be at a “disadvantage” before finalising their shock showdown.
AJ will lock horns with the YouTuber-turned-boxer in a Miami melee live on Netflix on December 19.
The crossover clash will see social media sensation Paul give up serious weight to an opponent for the first time in his carefully engineered boxing career.
AJ, however, has been hit with a weight restriction for the first time in his career, with the contract stipulating he can’t weigh more than 245lbs.
And Matchroom Boxing supremo Hearn has claimed the weight limit imposed on AJ is the result of ‘Problem Child’ and his team wanting to slightly level the playing field before signing on the dotted line.
He told BBC Radio 5 Live: “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. 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.
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Jake Paul vs Anthony Joshua – all the info
A true Christmas miracle!
The world will stand still come December 19 as the face of British boxing Anthony Joshua is all set to go up against social media sensation Jake Paul.
AJ steps in on a month’s notice after Paul’s ‘David vs Goliath’ Gervonta Davis clash was axed due to Tank’s civil suit case.
And Joshua will be desperate not to suffer the same fate as legends Mike Tyson and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr who both lost to YouTuber-turned-boxer Paul.
Particularly as a handsome figure was negotiated to get this Judgement Day deal over the line due to AJ’s DAZN contract.
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“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.’”
Joshua was under the 245lbs limit before his do-or-die rematch with Andy Ruiz Jr in December 2019, coming in at a lean and mean 237lbs.
The former two-time heavyweight champion tipped the scales at 248lbs for his devastating fifth-round KO defeat to Daniel Dubois last September.
He weighed 252.4lbs for his two-round demolition of ex-UFC champ Francis Ngannou last March, which he plans to replicate against former Disney star Paul.
He said: “I’m going to break his face and break his body up. I’m here to prove I’m the better fighter.
“I’ll stomp all over him. That’s a fighter’s mentality.
“I’m going to really want to hurt him. That’s what I want to do.”
