When Jake Paul and Anthony Joshua weigh in on Thursday ahead of their eight-round heavyweight fight on December 19 in Miami, a significant weight difference can be expected.

Former YouTuber Paul moves up from his usual cruiserweight division to fight Joshua, who has been one of the greatest of his heavyweight peers throughout his era.

Joshua’s most recent weigh-in was for his fight with Daniel Dubois at 252 pounds. Meanwhile, Paul weighed 227 pounds when he faced the aging Mike Tyson in a heavyweight fight.

However, this is not the first time that there has been a significant weight difference between two fighters. Here are some other fights that have thrown things off balance.

Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk (2024)

Weight difference: 55 pounds

Tyson Fury: 281 pounds

Oleksandr Usyk: 226 pounds

Result: Usyk won by unanimous decision

Significance: Both men opted to employ heavier means in the second fight than in their first meeting in May 2024. The fury increased by as much as 19 pounds when Usyk gained only 2 pounds – it was the heaviest weight the Briton has ever made in his career. Many viewed Fury’s decision to attack harder as an attempt to bully Usyk and dominate the rematch.

Roy Jones Jr. vs. John Ruiz (2003)

Weight difference: 31 pounds

Roy Jones Jr.: 193 pounds

John Ruiz: 224 pounds

Result: Jones Jr. win. a massive unanimous decision

Meaning: Jones Jr. became the first former middleweight champion in over 100 years to win the heavyweight title in a fight dubbed Never Take A Heavyweight Lightly. Despite losing weight, height and reach in favor of the Puerto Rican, Jones Jr conducted a masterclass in technical boxing and picked the 31-year-old Ruiz at will.

Nikolai Valuev vs. David Haye (2009)

Weight difference: 98 pounds

Nikolai Valuev: ~316 pounds

David Haye: 218 pounds

Result: Haye used his speed to secure a majority victory

Meaning: This is one of the largest weight discrepancies in world title fight history and has literally been described as a David vs. Goliath fight. Haye scored the win and broke his arm in the process, describing Valuev’s header as “the hardest thing I’ve ever hit.” It’s like hitting a solid brick wall. With the victory, the Londoner became the first Briton to hold the world heavyweight crown since Lennox Lewis retired in 2003.

Nikolai Valuev vs. John Ruiz (2005)

Weight difference: ~86 lbs

Nikolai Valuev: over 320 pounds

John Ruiz: ~238 lbs

Result: Valuev won a controversial majority decision to become the tallest and heaviest champion in history.

Meaning: This one was extremely controversial given the weight difference between the fighters – it also infuriated the crowd as Valuev relied on clenching and holding despite his significant size advantage. Valuev’s victory also made him the first Russian world heavyweight champion. Ruiz was furious after the fight, stating that: “Boxing is the only sport where you can get robbed without a gun.”

Daniel Dubois vs. Jarrell Miller (2023)

Weight difference: 94 pounds

Daniel Dubois: 239 pounds

Jarrell Miller: 333 pounds

Result: Dubois stopped Miller in the 10th round.

Significance: Despite a huge weight disadvantage, Dubois’ conditioning allowed him to outwork the much heavier Miller and he secured the victory over Miller with seconds remaining in their 10-round heavyweight bout in Ridyah. It was a tardy attack from the Briton that swung the fight in his favor after Miller took multiple punches thrown in the early rounds. Dubois also landed a career-high 208 punches in the fight.

Fabio Wardley vs. Dennis Lewandowski (2019)

Weight difference: ~120 lbs

Fabio Wardley: ~230 lbs

Dennis Lewandowski: ~350 pounds

Result: Wardley won by TKO in the 3rd round.

Meaning: One of the most extreme weight differences seen in state-of-the-art professional fighting. Wardley handed Lewandowski his first defeat at the distance, securing his seventh victory in a row and sixth after the break. The Ipswich-born fighter started stringing together combinations in the third quarter, bled Lewandowski’s nose and knocked him down twice with right uppercuts – the referee had seen enough and stopped the fight in round 3.