ANTHONY JOSHUA will bank a career-high £18million for his US debut against Andy Ruiz Jr tonight — six years after making his pro bow for just £15,000.
After winning the 2012 London Olympics, the British golden boy had his pick of promoters and penned a deal, with a hefty signing-on fee, with Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom.
But his October 2013 debut against Emanuele Leo, on the O2 undercard of Scott Quigg vs Yoandris Salinas, paid peanuts compared to the huge windfall he can expect this weekend.
The sensational April 2017 win over Wladimir Klitschko was the biggest money spinner, raking in around £20m but the veteran former champion had negotiated a 50-50 split for the 90,000-fan Wembley showdown.
And tonight’s US debut at Madison Square Garden will take Joshua over the £60m mark, for his last six fights, without taking into account the massive money he makes from sponsorships and brand partnerships.
The hope is around 600,000 UK homes invest in the pay-per-view Madison Square Garden show, swelling the coffers for the two fighters.
Ruiz Jr, the chunky son of a builder, banked just £24,000 for outpointing Kevin Johnson in July but can expect to take home around £3m for tonight’s shift.
And, when Hearn was asked about the impact unified lightweight superstar Katie Taylor has had on the pay structure in women’s boxing, he revealed AJ’s modest earliest earnings too.
He said: “Fighting Katie is a bit like when people come to fight Anthony Joshua, they either fold completely or they rise a level.
Everyone loves a winner, if you are winning you can fight anywhere in the world.
“When we look back and see what we were paying Katie at the start of her career, it’s the same with AJ. I always laugh with him about it because he says, ‘You robbing b*****d!’
“It’s because he was making something like 15 or 20 grand for his debut.”
Despite the mega-money on offer for fighting in the US and cashing in on his new partnership with streaming broadcasters DAZN, Joshua is set to return to Britain for his next fight.
The Watford ace is looking at November or December for a mandatory defence at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff.
AJ is too big a star to fight in UK arenas and the winter weather rules out a Wembley return but 78,000 fans can be kept warm and dry by the retractable roof in Wales.
The bout will most likely be a mandatory defence against the IBF-backed Kubrat Pulev but undisputed cruiserweight king Oleksandr Usyk could burst onto the heavyweight scene with a shot at the boss.
Joshua said: “Everyone loves a winner, if you are winning you can fight anywhere in the world.
AJ PAYDAY
“The UK has been with me from the start, from grassroots, so I never forget where home is but, as a world champion, you do have to fight around the world.
“I can fight anywhere in the world but I never forget where my home is and where the base is for me and that is in the UK.
“It’s also good that there is up and coming talent in the UK so it’s nice to get respect like Andy is getting from Mexico and American champions get from America. It’s important to remember we are all trying to lift boxing up in the UK.”
And promoter Hearn, whose job it is to keep the money rolling in, admitted Joshua’s love for his local fans will keep him coming back.
He said: “AJ’s heart is in the UK. He didn’t come to us and say ‘I want to box in America’. It was very much us saying to him that the American market has opened up a lot.
“There’s an opportunity there and we need to raise your profile there, so while we wait for the mega fights, do we want to keep going Wembley, Principality Stadium, Wembley or take the pressure off the UK market a little bit by coming over here?
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“We did Wladimir Klitschko, Carlos Takam, Joseph Parker and Alexander Povetkin all in stadiums in four years, so I felt that really just to have one off was a good thing for the UK market.
“When we couldn’t get Deontay Wilder or Dillian Whyte, then this became the right thing to do.
“Now we’ve done it, it seems like the obvious move and we’ve seen the adverts all round Times Square. It just makes you realise he’s a huge star and that America is a very important market.”
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