Anthony Joshua appears completely unfazed by the weight cap imposed on him for his December 19 showdown with Jake Paul, revealing he is already under the 245lb limit more than two weeks before fight night. In a social-media clip, the former unified heavyweight champion stepped onto the scales at 244.7lbs and casually captioned the moment, “Making weight is easy,” before sitting down to eat.
The stipulation - part of the eight-round professional bout agreement in Miami - was designed to level the playing field for Paul, who is attempting the most ambitious leap of his career. Having moved from crossover attraction to taking on a 2012 Olympic gold medallist and ex-heavyweight king, Paul insisted Joshua not exceed 245lbs. Joshua, whose career heaviest was 255lbs against Jermaine Franklin Jr, has previously fought at the imposed limit three times with notable success.
Historically, Joshua has operated comfortably within a wide weight range, from a career-light 229lbs in 2013 to the mid-250s in recent years. His last outing saw him come in at 252lbs for his ill-fated world-title challenge against Daniel Dubois, which ended in a fifth-round stoppage. This time, though, the 36-year-old shows no signs of struggling with the contracted weight.
Image Credit: Netflix