ANTHONY JOSHUA has reportedly taken a whopping pay cut for his comeback fight with Jermaine Franklin.
The former two-time unified heavyweight champion will bid to get back in the win column at the O2 tonight following consecutive losses to pound-for-pound king Oleksandr Usyk.
AJ earned a pretty penny for his back-to-back bouts with the undefeated Ukrainian, pocketing £65million for their Saudi showdown last August.
Listen to free live commentary of Anthony Joshua vs Jermaine Franklin on talkSPORT. Download the app.
But he’s set to receive a staggering £55m LESS for his do-or-die dust-up with American gunslinger Franklin.
That’s according to The Mirror, who claim the golden boy of British boxing will pocket a cool £10million for his return to the O2.
Franklin will reportedly take home around £800,OOO for his second fight in the UK – but this could rise to over £1m should he spring a huge shock.
READ MORE IN BOXING
Despite having already banked millions of pounds, Joshua admits adding a few more zeroes to his bank account is one of his primary motivations for the latter stages of his career.
When asked in February what is driving him on, he told Eddie Hearn: “Money.
“I like making money. Straight up. Like, this is a prizefighting sport.
“I’ve been broke. My family has been broke.
Most read in Boxing
“I know what this s*** means and I do it because I’m good at it and I hustle hard.
BETTING SPECIAL – ODDS AND OFFERS FOR JOSHUA vs FRANKLIN
“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.”
Defeat to Franklin will end Joshua’s hopes of getting back into the world title picture, a fact he’s all too aware of.
He said: “How long can this run go on for, three or four years?
“And you know how quick time goes.
🥊 Anthony Joshua vs Jermaine Franklin – Date, live stream, TV channel and all you need to know about heavyweight bout
“We’re saying this now and we can look back in two years, three years, and be like f***ing hell where’s the time gone?
“So, if I was going to do another run after this, you’re talking about fighting into my forties.
“And I truly believe that boxing is a young man’s sport,
Read More on The Sun
“It takes a real solid character like Bernard Hopkins, George Foreman, Wladimir Klitschko and Alexander Povetkin, to go on into their forties.
“But I think this is a run I want to make successful and then, you know, hopefully, go out on top.”
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
