Eddie Hearn overexaggerated Anthony Joshua's weight ahead of Joshua vs Jake Paul
Eddie Hearn lied
The bout is set to be streamed live on Netflix and is expected to be one of the most-watched boxing bouts of 2025.
Joshua - a former two-time unified heavyweight champion - is understandably a huge favourite ahead of the clash, with many feeling that the ‘Problem Child’ will be in need of a miracle to taste victory in December.
There was fear among the boxing scene that the contracts would be heavily skewed in Paul's favour, and after it was revealed that ‘AJ’ could weigh no more than 245 lbs, these concerns only skyrocketed.
However, speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live, Eddie Hearn has put to bed these concerns, admitting that he lied about his fighter's current weight in order to make the cut less significant.
“I spoke to [Joshua], and he was sitting at 265 pounds or something like that. I think I told Nakisa [Bidarian] that he was 290 pounds or something like that,” Hearn revealed.
He also went on to stress that the bout will be contested under mostly regular rules, with no strange clauses relating to glove size or anything else outside of the norm.
“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.'”
