Heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua set for a massive cash windfall this weekend in his latest title defence against Carlos Takam.
Anthony Joshua is big business around the world. No doubt about it.
Blue chip sponsors, TV deals and stadium fights. Many appear to be pinning their hopes on him being this generation’s next marquee world heavyweight.
But as the man himself would surely admit, he’s still very much a work in progress and has a long way to go. Words he echoed himself after a win not long ago:
“I’m not perfect but I’m trying.”
His fight style and marketability have ensured already some big pay days in his 19 fight professional career but according to Express Sport, the total fight purse this weekend stands at £20 million (GB sterling) with Takam expected to take away £4 million, leaving a guaranteed £16 million for Joshua.
In US dollar terms, that works out at approximately $21 million for Joshua (guaranteed purse) and $5.25 million for Takam.
This doesn’t include pay per view performance however and other revenue streams such as sponsorship and ticket sales but when you’re talking the post Floyd Mayweather era in terms of paydays, that’s not bad for a night’s work by anyone’s standards.
A unification fight against Deontay Wilder next year or even a fight with Tyson Fury from the UK could make a lot more.
Perhaps this is the real reason his handlers are taking their time on making those fights.
They know there’s a bit of building left in them yet (economically speaking) to make them comparable to that of Floyd Mayweather’s big pay days of the past.
Floyd Mayweather currently holds all the records for boxing in terms of biggest pay days and pay per view numbers. His fights with Manny Pacquiao and Conor McGregor number one and number two in this regard.
