Anthony Joshua looks set to lose almost half of the huge payout he received for his fight against Jake Paul.
The British heavyweight reportedly earned around £70 million for the bout, but may actually keep closer to £35 million.
The 36-year-old dispatched the YouTuber-turned-boxer in the sixth round, landing a knockout blow. There has been some strong backlash to the fight, as Joshua was expected to dominate Paul a lot more than he actually did.
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While the former two-time heavyweight champion earned his victory, a lot of fans still see the event as a joke that cannot be taken seriously. Both men’s pockets would strongly disagree with that assessment, as they both bagged huge paydays in Miami.
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AJ may have won the Netflix-broadcast bout, but the Brit is expected to be hit harder than his American opponent. While reported purses for both men have varied slightly, the common number reported to have been split between them was $184m.
That would work out at roughly £70 million per fighter, but Joshua won’t see all of that money. Instead, he’s going to be hit by both British and American tax laws. Per a press release from AceOdds, the Englishman could lose up to £33 million in US Federal Tax, payments to HMRC and National Insurance contributions in the UK.
Data experts worked out the exact breakdown of how much he will have to hand over in tax, as the press release stated: “Assuming the £70m figure is accurate, Joshua would be lumbered with a total tax bill of £31,386,203 on his earnings from the fight.”
In short, £25,867,333 of the money would be his US tax contribution, while a further £5,618,870 and £1,401,257 would go to HMRC and national insurance payments, respectively. That would leave him with just 53% of the reported £70 million. That’s still a handsome sum of cash.
Anthony Joshua Full of ‘Respect’ For Hospital-Bound Jake Paul
Despite sending his opponent to the hospital with a severely broken jaw, Joshua was quick to send praise Paul’s way after the fight. He stated:
“It wasn’t the best performance. The end goal was to get Jake Paul, pin him down and hurt him. That has been the request leading up, and that’s what was on my mind. It took a bit longer than expected, but the right hand finally found the destination.
“I want to give him his props. He got up time and time again. It was difficult in there for him, but he kept on trying to find a way. It takes a real man to do that. Anyone who laces up these gloves, we always say we give them our respect. We have to give Jake his respect for trying and trying and trying. Well done.”
