Eddie Hearn reveals major rule change just days before Jake Paul and Anthony Joshua fight
With just one more day to go until Jake Paul and Anthony Joshua step in the ring, Eddie Hearn has confirmed a major rule change, which has left fans divided.
The YouTuber and former heavyweight champion are due to go toe-to-toe in Florida on 19 December, or the early hours of 20 December if you're watching from the UK, with the whole event live streaming on Netflix.
In the build up to the professionally sanctioned fight, there has been much speculation about what rules will apply, particularly after 28-year-old Paul's match against boxing veteran Mike Tyson saw shorter rounds and bigger gloves being used.
However, it has recently been confirmed that the upcoming bout will largely stick to regular boxing rules, which will consist of eight rounds, each three minutes long and both men wearing regulation 10oz gloves.
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Eddie Hearn confirms rule change
As it turns out, there will be one major change after Hearn, the chairman of Matchroom Boxing, revealed to IFL TV that Paul and Joshua will be stepping into a 22x22 feet ring, which is one of the biggest boxing rings you can get.
This was then confirmed by the Problem Child himself in the early hours of Thursday morning (18 December), at the final pre-fight press conference.
When asked about the ring size, Paul said: "That's accurate, pretty standard. I think fights range from 20 foot rings to 24 foot rings, so 22 feet, I feel great about it."
In actual fact, boxing rings tend to range from 16 feet all the way up to 24 feet, so 22 feet is definitely on the larger side of the scale.
Boxing fans react
Fans have had mixed reactions to the ring size, with some sharing their theories as to why this has been decided on X.
"Such a joke, going to be dancing around that ring all night," one person wrote, adding: "I’ll take some Joshua by decision action, though."
Meanwhile, a second wrote: "More space, more running. Jake better use every inch if he wants to survive."
"So Paul can run away," a third claimed, while a fourth added: "Jake doing athletics."
It comes after it was revealed Joshua had controversially agreed up an upper weight limit — something which isn't usually seen in the heavyweight division.
The 6ft6in tall 36-year-old is required to weigh in at 245lbs, which is roughly what he weighed in at for both his fights against Oleksandr Usyk. Meanwhile, Paul, who stands at 6ft1in, revealed that he's struggling to gain weight and expects to be around 215 and 225lbs.
If you want to watch Jake Paul vs Anthony Joshua then you can do so on Netflix, it starts at 1am UK time on Saturday, 20 December.
Topics: Netflix, Boxing, Sport, Jake Paul, Anthony Joshua
Emma Rosemurgey