ANTHONY JOSHUA is banking a basic £33.2million for tomorrow’s Saudi-funded showdown with Oleksandr Usyk — a pay cut of £13m!
The Watford man trousered £46m when he regained his world heavyweight titles from Andy Ruiz Jr in Riyadh three years ago.
But now AJ, beaten by Usyk 11 months ago, has been forced to take a lesser amount as he tries to get the WBA, IBF and WBO belts back from the Ukrainian warrior.
Usyk will bag the same £33.2m pay packet as the challenger when the pair clash in Jeddah.
And the victor is in line for a bonus based on the pay-per-view buys on Sky Sports in the UK and on DAZN around the world.
The Saudis paid almost £83m for total rights to the fight and the fighters will split 80 per cent of that.
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The remaining £16.6m has been spent on the undercard and other expenses.
The crazy cash on the palace tables in Saudi Arabia means most major fights featuring European boxers will now end up getting flogged to the Middle East.
A staggering 94,000 fans packed Wembley to the rafters when WBC ruler Tyson Fury beat Dillian Whyte on St George’s Day, April 23.
But even if AJ wins tomorrow, there seems little chance of an all-English fight for the undisputed heavyweight crown on home soil.
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Essex promoter Eddie Hearn is already in talks to keep the belts in Arabia by luring Fury over.
Hearn said: “This is our second big event in Saudi Arabia and we want to bring more big events here.
“Other promoters have spoken about coming here but we’re the only one to do it.
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“They want to stage more big events in the Kingdom and the one they want is for the undisputed heavyweight title.
“They would like it to be the winner of this against Fury.”
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
