Anthony Joshua cancelled his surprise fight in Riyadh this weekend in favour of his December 19 clash with Jake Paul instead.<\/b><\/p>\n
That\u2019s according to respected boxing journalist Dan Rafael who has revealed that \u2018AJ\u2019 was scheduled to fight as a total surprise on The Ring IV: Night of the Champions card in Riyadh on Saturday.<\/span><\/p>\n Anthony Joshua vs Jake Paul has been officially announced for a heavyweight contest on December 19 in Miami, but that wasn\u2019t meant to be Joshua\u2019s next fight.<\/span><\/p>\n It has been revealed that the two-time unified world heavyweight champion was scheduled to make a surprise appearance this Saturday night and fight on The Ring IV: Night of the Champions card in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia instead.<\/span><\/p>\n However, these plans fell by the wayside as soon as it was announced that \u2018AJ\u2019 would be fighting \u2018The Problem Child\u2019 in an eight-round professional boxing bout next month instead in an announcement that well and truly shook the boxing world.<\/span><\/p>\n The <\/span>Joshua vs Paul rules<\/span><\/a> have been set which includes a 245-pound weight limit for \u2018AJ\u2019, 10oz gloves and eight three-minute rounds in a professional sanctioned contest.<\/span><\/p>\n Prior to the AJ vs Paul super-fight, the 35-year-old was originally scheduled to appear in a surprise contest on November 22nd in Riyadh on the David Benavidez vs Anthony Yarde undercard.<\/span><\/p>\n Benavidez vs Yarde goes down for world honours in the light-heavyweight division on Saturday night, with three other world title fights on the card.<\/span><\/p>\n With a total of four world title fights on the same bill, some fans speculated that this could be the most world title fights on one card in boxing history<\/a>. However, that isn\u2019t actually the case.<\/span><\/p>\n It appears that Joshua was supposed to compete in a surprise bout on the jam-packed mega-card too, but has made a total U-turn due to the Jake Paul fight instead. Now, \u2018AJ\u2019 will return to the ring on December 19, rather than this weekend in Saudi Arabia.<\/span><\/p>\n \ud83e\udd4a\u203c\ufe0fAnthony Joshua was supposed to be a SURPRISE fight on the Benavidez\/Yarde Haney\/Norman Saudi Card this weekend until they received the Jake Paul offer and pulled the fight\u203c\ufe0f\ud83d\ude33 — Hassan (@Hassanwellss) November 19, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\nAnthony Joshua Cancels Surprise Fight In Jake Paul U-Turn<\/h2>\n
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\ud83c\udfa5:@DanRafael1<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/4NdM12R9Bq<\/a><\/p>\n