Boxing

ANTHONY JOSHUA is set to earn less than half his initial purse for his fight with Kubrat Pulev after missing out on a monster £8million gate fee.
The British star, 31, and 39-year-old Bulgarian Pulev were originally set to meet at the 62,303-seater Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in June.

Joshua could take home just £6m for his fight with Pulev after losing out on an £8m gate feeCredit: Reuters

Joshua is believed to have raked in over £50m for his rematch win over RuizCredit: Getty Images – Getty

That would have seen AJ pocket £8m just in ticket sales.
However, the fight was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
It was originally believed the fight would go ahead behind closed doors.
But the clash has been given the green light to host 1,000 fans at Wembley Arena this weekend.

Joshua will walk away with much less than he’d initially planned – but for the Brit, it will hopefully lead to a money-spinning heavyweight unification fight with Tyson Fury in 2021.
Should fans be allowed back for that fight, Joshua could stand to rake in another bumper sum.
Joshua took home a staggering £50m for his win over Andy Ruiz Jr last December in Saudi Arabia – doubling his career earnings.
Last month, promoter Eddie Hearn revealed he expected AJ to miss out on a huge sum of money against Pulev after Derek Chisora lost out on around £2m in gate fees for his loss against Oleksandr Usyk.

Having watched Usyk outpoint Chisora at the Wembley Arena last month, Hearn said: “We have the best bubble in boxing and elite sport is not part of lockdown.
“We can sustain it – but we want to be a profitable business.
“We lost what would have been a £2m gate at the O2 for this fight.”
On Joshua, Hearn confirmed: “AJ was going to take £8m on the gate at Spurs so obviously he is taking a pay cut.”
Hearn recently revealed fighters were losing around 40 per cent of their usual purse due to Covid-19.
All in all, talkSPORT believe Joshua will walk away with just £6m for his fight with Pulev – a little over ten per cent of the fee he raked in from his Ruiz rematch.

Anthony Joshua to fight Kubrat Pulev in front of 1,000 fans at Wembley More

ANTHONY JOSHUA’S daily diet is enough to feed a family-of-four – but it keeps him lean, mean and a real fighting machine.
Before any big fight, the heavyweight king gorges on his regular pre-bout diet fit for a king.

Anthony Joshua must consume around 5,000 calories a DAY to be lean and mean ahead of fights

Joshua crams in 5,000 calories per day to keep his strength up
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That includes between 4,000 and 5,000 calories each day for the Brit bruiser – especially in the build-up to this weekend’s fight with Kubrat Pulev.
A win against the Bulgarian basher will set-up an incredible, all-British heavyweight unification fight with Tyson Fury.
AJ’s bumper diet includes five eggs in the morning, among other food, two chicken breasts – the size of four regular ones – at lunch and two fillet steaks at dinner.

Joshua also has a morning and bedtime snack, maintaining a massive yet healthy mix of protein, carbohydrates and fats.
In 2018, he told Coach: “In the past, I didn’t eat enough… I’d have breakfast, snack during the day and then not eat until dinner.”
His performance nutritionist, Mark Ellison, says his meals are carefully selected now.
Ellison told The Times: “Even though he can eat a large amount of food it has to be good quality – we can’t fuel him on junk.

“I’ve got a BMW 5-series estate and the haul from the greengrocers fills up the boot.”

Anthony Joshua consumes 5,000 calories a day ahead of fights

Joshua is currently preparing to take on Kubrat Pulev on December 12

Joshua’s bumper food shops fill the boot of an SUV

How AJ compares to Pulev ahead of their December 12 fight

This allows Joshua, who weighs around 17 stone, to recover swiftly from the huge amount of exercise and weight training he does in the months leading up to a fight.
So, what is actually on the menu?
When he wakes up in the morning at 7.30am after his ten hours of sleep, Joshua gets his energy for the day from a selection of foods.
On some days he will train on an empty stomach as evidence suggests this can help with cardiovascular fitness.
But on most days, he starts with five eggs, fresh fruit, oats, yoghurt, milk and a selection of vegetables – even adding a smoked salmon on a bagel some days, as well.
Joshua will then have an electrolyte drink, recovery shake as well as a sandwich, salad box or pasta pot as a mid-morning snack.

Joshua eats regular meals and snacks throughout the day to maintain muscle mass
When lunch comes around, Joshua has those two giant chicken breasts with some sweet potatoes and vegetables, followed by some yoghurt and honey.
At dinner time, his team prepares him the two fillet steaks which he’ll have with vegetables and either pasta, wholegrain rice.
To meet their target of calories, Joshua must also have a snack before he goes to bed.
That is a slow-release protein shake and protein bars.
Ellison adds: “If anything he has to be careful because he can easily not get enough fuel in, especially when he’s doing two, two-hour training sessions a day and fulfilling media requirements.”

Anthony Joshua to fight Kubrat Pulev in front of 1,000 fans at Wembley More

ANTHONY JOSHUA’S opponent on Saturday is certainly no pushover – his one defeat in 29 fights prove it.
The Bulgarian brute’s only loss came against AJ’s former opponent Wladimir Klitschko back in 2014.

Kubrat Pulev was floored four times by Klitschko’s left hookCredit: Getty – Contributor

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Klitschko appeared to have spotted his weakness, unleashing a barrage of left hooks that left Pulev floored four times in total.
He seemed defenceless to the punch and it could prove to be the gameplan when Joshua steps back into the ring for the first time in a year.
The British champ has already admitted he has taken advice from Klitschko on how to deal with 39-year-old Pulev.

A win looks set to clear the path to take on nemesis Tyson Fury for the undisputed crown.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Joshua said: “We spoke about the Pulev fight. This was like four weeks ago.
“And I’m probably going to catch up with him again now that you’ve just mentioned it. He has his views.”
But he admitted he will take Klitschko’s advice with a ‘pinch of salt’ because every fighter is different.

AJ added: “But every fighter… so Pulev vs Klitschko is different to the Pulev vs Joshua. Pulev vs Klitschko was different to Klitschko vs Joshua. They’re completely different fights.

Joshua admitted he has taken advice from his old Ukrainian foeCredit: Getty Images – Getty

“So even though Klitschko has been in with both of us, the fights were so different.
“So even though Klitschko is going to give me advice on how to deal with Pulev, I have to take it with a pinch of salt.
“Because the Pulev I am going to be fighting is completely different from the Pulev that Klitschko was fighting.”

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