The year is 2025 and two-time world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua will face former Disney channel and YouTube star Jake Paul in a professional boxing fight.
With confirmation of the heavyweight super-fight for Friday, December 19 in Miami, fans are wondering what the AJ vs Jake Paul rules are.
Join us as we outline all of the official rules and regulations for December’s colossal clash between Paul and Joshua.
Anthony Joshua vs Jake Paul Rules Confirmed
In one of the most incredible and unbelievable announcements in boxing history, it has been confirmed that Anthony Joshua and Jake Paul will fight each other in a heavyweight contest on Friday, December 19 at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida.
Jake Paul is the most popular boxer in the world, and he is now taking on a two-time world heavyweight champion and one of Britain’s best heavyweight fighters in history in Anthony Joshua.
With official confirmation that Joshua vs Paul will take place less than a week before Christmas, boxing fans are keen to know the official rules and fight stipulations for this heavyweight super-fight.
The American was of course scheduled to face multi-weight world champion Gervonta Davis this past weekend, but is now set to face Joshua instead in a heavyweight contest. This will be the 35-year-old’s first fight back since his knockout defeat by Daniel Dubois back in September 2024 at Wembley Stadium.
Over the weekend Paul issued an update on Joshua fight rumours, and it seems he wasn’t lying with official confirmation that the pair will indeed face-off in the centre of a boxing ring on December 19 in Miami, Florida.
With the fight officially going ahead, the Joshua vs Paul rules and fight stipulations have been confirmed.
He’s loco mhen
🎟️ https://t.co/8AVuretyBP pic.twitter.com/odiZZtqUst
— Anthony Joshua (@anthonyjoshua) November 17, 2025
AJ vs Jake Paul Weight Limit
With Anthony Joshua vs Jake Paul being announced as an official professional heavyweight boxing contest, this usually means there is no official weight limit for either fighter.
The heavyweight division is the only weight class in boxing where there is no upper limit on what a fighter can weigh.
As last week’s Chris Eubank Jr vs Conor Benn 2 rules outlined, their fight was a middleweight contest with a 10-pound rehydration clause. For Paul vs Joshua there will also be a weight limit.
It has been confirmed by multiple sources that neither fighter will be allowed to weight in any higher than 245-pounds. This means that ‘AJ’ will likely have to cut weight in order to successfully remain within the set weight restrictions.
The two-time world heavyweight champion has weighed over 250-pounds for his last five fights. The last time the former unified heavyweight king weighed less than 245-pounds was for his rematch with Oleksandr Usyk back in August 2022. On that occasion, the Englishman weighed 244.5-pounds.
Joshua hasn’t weighed less than 245-pounds for well over three years now, so if this weight stipulation is true for Joshua vs Paul then the Watford man will have to cut weight prior to the contest.
WEIGHT LIMIT SET FOR AJ FOR PAUL FIGHT ‼️
It's been confirmed that @AnthonyJoshua will not be allowed to weigh more than 245lbs when he weighs in for his fight against Jake Paul next month ⚖️
To put that into context, Joshua has weighed in 250lbs+ in his last five fights but… pic.twitter.com/7TlwuVy4GG
— IFL TV (@IFLTV) November 17, 2025
How Many Rounds Is The Paul vs Joshua Fight?
Jake Paul vs Anthony Joshua will be contested over eight three-minute rounds.
The last time Joshua fought in an eight-round bout was back in May 2015. From September 2015 onwards, ‘AJ’ has only competed in 12 round championship fights.
‘The Problem Child’ on the other hand fought in an eight-round contest just last year. Paul took on boxing icon Mike Tyson in an eight-rounder, with each round lasting two minutes.
Of his 13 professional boxing bouts to date, nine of these have been eight-rounders. Paul has only fought in two ten-round fights and also competed in two six-round contests.
AJ vs Paul Glove Size
As well as Anthony Joshua vs Jake Paul being an eight-rounder, both men will wear 10oz gloves in the ring come fight night.
This is the standard size of gloves for a professional heavyweight fight, meaning there has been no clause in the contract to change the size of gloves for this specific bout.
Anthony Joshua’s net worth is already upward of £175million, but it’s set to increase even more in the aftermath of his showdown with Jake Paul just before Christmas.
The same can be said for ‘The Problem Child’, who is expected to earn $50m+ for this upcoming fight with the two-time and former unified world heavyweight champion.
Yes, it’s real.
JAKE PAUL vs. ANTHONY JOSHUA. A career-defining pro heavyweight fight. LIVE only on Netflix Friday, December 19. #JakeJoshua pic.twitter.com/zG4RSqsTxU
— Netflix (@netflix) November 17, 2025
Anthony Joshua vs Jake Paul Scoring
The three scoring judges for the Jake Paul vs Anthony Joshua fight are yet to be confirmed, but they will be required to score the action via the ten-point must system.
This simply means the winner of each individual round is awarded 10 points, with the loser receiving nine of fewer points. In the event of a knockdown, this typically results in a 10-8 round, with the scores totalled at the end of the fight, in this case after eight rounds, to determine the winner on points.
Most rounds are scored 10-9, but in some circumstances there can be a 10-8 as previously explained, or even a 10-7. Usually this would mean being knocked down more than once but still surviving to hear the bell for the end of the round.
Although genuinely unbelievable, Anthony Joshua vs Jake Paul is on. Friday, December 19 at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida. This heavyweight super-fight is simply not to be missed.
