MIAMI BEACH — Not everything will be standard procedure in Friday's eight-round heavyweight bout between Anthony Joshua and Jake Paul at Kaseya Center.
The fight, along with the rest of the bouts that will be streamed on Netflix, will take place in a 22-by-22-foot ring. The standard size for a boxing ring is 20-by-20.
“That’s accurate,” Paul said, confirming the details at the final press conference at Jackie Gleason Theater at The Fillmore. “Pretty standard. I think fights range from 20-foot rings to 24-foot rings. So, 22 feet, I feel great about it.”
While that could presumably help the significantly smaller Paul, Joshua said he has no problem with the slightly bigger ring
"One of the last significant fights to take place in a 22-by-22 ring came four years ago when Canelo Alvarez stopped Billy Joe Saunders in their unification bout for WBA, WBC and WBO middleweight titles in Dallas.
Joshua also can’t weigh more than 245 pounds for the fight, rather than a typical heavyweight fight that doesn’t have a weight limit. The last time Joshua weighed less than 245 was for his rematch against Oleksandr Usyk in 2022. Joshua and Paul will wear 10-ounce gloves, which is standard for a heavyweight fight.
Paul (12-1, 7 KOs) will be making a huge step up in competition when he faces Joshua. Paul, 28, is coming off a unanimous decision over Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. on June 28, which extended his win streak to six.
Joshua (28-4, 25 KOs) will be fighting for the first time since his fifth-round knockout loss to Daniel Dubois for the IBF heavyweight title 14 months ago. His fight with Paul will also represent just his second fight in the U.S.
In his lone appearance in the States, Joshua was on the wrong end of one of boxing’s biggest upsets when he was stopped by Andy Ruiz in the seventh round at Madison Square Garden in New York on June 1, 2019.
Joshua became a two-time unified heavyweight champion six months later when he defeated Ruiz in the rematch by unanimous decision in Saudi Arabia.
- NATE MARRERO
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