Anthony Joshua, the British-Nigerian heavyweight champion, is expected to earn between £18million and £20million, about a billion naira, after beating New Zealander Joseph Parker in the unification fight in Cardiff on Saturday.
This new paycheck will take Joshua’s gross earnings from three fights to £50 million, according to reports.
Joshua will even take home more money if he faces the undefeated WBC heavyweight champion America’s Deontay Wilder, who recently produced a tenth-round stoppage to beat Joe Ortiz.
The mouth watering fight is being scheduled for the last quarter of the year, according to Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn.
The size of Joshua’s paycheck was determined by two factors, his being the home fighter and his being the headline name on the card.
Parker is expected to earn £13million, far more than the £1million pocketed by Joshua’s previous opponent, the Cameroonian Carlos Takam. Joshua then pocketed £15million
Their earnings form a proportion of the revenue from pay-per-view TV sales and sponsorship deals with the bout being shown live on Sky Sports Box Office.
Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn recently revealed a world unification bout was provisionally pencilled in for November or December 2018.
“The fight with Anthony Joshua is unquestionably the biggest fight in world boxing and anyone that knows me knows how much I would love to stage a fight like that.
“The options are that we go in August in America against someone and then Deontay Wilder, or straight into Wilder. But if we do Wilder it will probably be October, November, December.”