Anthony Joshua takes huge pay cut with fight purse for comeback fight
Anthony Joshua could earn up to £10million for his heavyweight outing against Jermaine Franklin tonight.
Joshua is set to return to the ring at his familiar home in London's O2 arena against American contender Franklin, as he prepares to step beyond the ropes for the first time since last August. The British heavyweight will look to bounce back from losing twice to Oleksandr Usyk, including in their Saudi Arabia rematch, and he needs a win to revive his ambitions of becoming world champion again.
The 33-year-old has had some mammoth paydays including for his recent fights against Usyk and his previous career-best display against Wladimir Klitschko. And he will likely bank at least a seven-figure payday for his latest outing, which will be significantly smaller given his status outside of the belts.
Franklin will pocket at least £500,000 which could rise to £1m if the fight is successful with the fans, which will likely also be boosted given the sold-out crowd in the UK. Joshua pocketed a huge £15m for his mandatory defence at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in 2021, before earning a mega £65m for the sequel last year in the Middle East.
Paydays have regularly been huge for Joshua who holds significant star power globally, but it will likely be reduced this time given he finds himself out of the title picture for the first time. However he recently signed a new lucrative deal with streaming service DAZN which will boost his purse as he fights on the platform in the UK for the first time tonight.
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There could likely be more lucrative fights on the horizon for Joshua should he progress beyond Franklin with clashes against Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder touted for later this year. These would likely pocket him career-high earnings, and may even see him return to the Middle East who have awarded him the biggest paydays of his career.
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In a bold assessment of his motivation for staying in the sport, Joshua has admitted that money drives him to earn the biggest days against the biggest name opponents. “Money,” Joshua said repeatedly when asked what motivated him to remain at the top of the heavyweight division. “I like making money. Straight up. Like, this is a prizefighting sport.
“I’ve been broke. My family has been broke. I know what this s*** means and I do it because I’m good at it and I hustle hard. When it’s all said and done no-one will care about me no more. So, I’ve got to make the most of it while I’m here. I’m feeling serious, focused and locked in.
"Whether my opponent has belts or not I take him the same way. I have to give the man his respect, he’s coming to fight and that will make me keep my feet on the ground and take him seriously."
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