By Victor Kanayo
Despite suffering a shocking defeat to Daniel Dubois, British-Nigerian born Anthony Joshua has been included in the top three highest-earning boxers in 2024.
The former two-time heavyweight champion earned a guaranteed pursae of £6m from the Wembley Stadium bout, with additional pay-per-view (PPV) revenue, potentially pushing his earnings beyond £25m if PPV buys reached 850,000.
Only Tyson Fury and Canelo Alvarez earned more than Joshua this year, with the Gipsy King banking an enormous $100m from his historic undisputed heavyweight clash against Oleksandr Usyk in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in May.
Mexican superstar Alvarez secured “north of $35m” for his successful undisputed super middleweight title defence against compatriot Jaime Munguia at the T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, according to boxing journalist Dan Rafael.
Joshua’s opponent, Dubois, had a guaranteed purse of £3.5m, with potential earnings of up to £8m based on PPV performance. The fight ended dramatically with Dubois knocking down AJ four times before securing a fifth-round stoppage.
The lucrative payday ranks highly as Joshua plots his return to the ring, with his promoter Eddie Hearn suggesting a potential showdown with Fury could be next for the British star.
“I think Fury, win or lose, will want to fight AJ next, and that’s something we’ve got to decide,” Hearn told Sky Sports.
However, Fury’s co-promoter Frank Warren believes Joshua needs to rebuild his credibility first, ruling out an immediate rematch with Dubois, who is set to defend his IBF heavyweight title on February 22 against an unnamed opponent.
The introduction of Riyadh Season has significantly boosted fighter earnings in 2024, with Saudi Arabia increasingly becoming boxing’s most lucrative destination. Usyk, who defeated Fury to become the undisputed heavyweight champion, earned $45m from their May clash.
