Jake Paul weight for Mike Tyson fight will 'shock people'

Jake Paul aims to enter the ring in July weighing as much as former world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua as he prepares to face Mike Tyson in the summer. The YouTuber-turned-fighter has vowed to put on some 40lb as he looks to defeat his upcoming opponent in Texas.

Just 10 bouts into a professional career, the contest versus the former unified world heavyweight champion Tyson has proven a controversial proposition within the boxing community. With internet sensation Paul some 30 years the junior of 'Iron Mike', contemporaries such as Carl Froch and Derek Chisora are among those who have called out the spectacle.

However, Lennox Lewis and Tyson Fury have given the affair their seal of approval, demonstrating the divisive nature of this unique event. After the fight was sanctioned as a professional bout recently, Paul has now further pressed home his narrative that the fight has legitimacy as a contest.

Confirming that he will bulk up considerably from his usual fighting weight of under 199lbs, it is clear that the ex-Disney child star is putting major efforts into his preparations. Speaking on his podcast, he posited: "It's just like shocking to people that that is how much I weigh.

"I think just because normally I'm fighting at 200 and walking around at 210. It's weird to me that I'm weighing 230," he contended. But since this was noodling after my last fight I'm just getting to eat as much as possible and it turns out my body carries this weight super well.

"And I'm only growing. I think I'll get up to 240 and probably cut down so I'm like way faster. But if I'm training for this camp - and camp hasn't started - but if I'm training in this camp at 240 and then I cut down to 220 it's basically like I had a 20lbs weight vest on for the whole entire camp. So my muscles are going to be so much stronger and that speed will come through."

Either way, there is no doubting the commitment of the man known as 'Problem Child' as he prepares for arguably the biggest event of his professional career so far. In fact, the 27-year-old has admitted that he is even prepared 'to die' in the ring versus his upcoming opponent.

Clearly not afraid to shock his fans prior to the controversial bout at AT&T Stadium, Paul issued a barbed response as he confirmed that any respect he has for Tyson will evaporate as soon as he steps into the ring. Speaking previously at the Miami Grand Prix, he said: "It’s war; all is fair in love and war.

"I love the guy, but as soon as it turned into a pro fight, one of us has to die," in a comment that will leave 'Iron Mike' in no doubt over his adversary's stance. "He's taking this very, very seriously and that's what's going to make the fight amazing for all the fans. He's a killer.

Talking up his own credentials as the months tick down to their showdown, he added: "I'm moving up to the heavyweight division so he's going to have some advantages but that's what's going to make this fight exciting. We both have one-punch knockout power. This is what he was destined to do and what he was born for."