Anthony Joshua could lose a significant portion of his record-breaking fight purse to tax authorities in the United States and the United Kingdom, despite his knockout victory over Jake Paul in Miami.
Reports suggest the British heavyweight may forfeit about $66 million in taxes from his estimated $140 million earnings, leaving him with a lower take-home sum than his defeated opponent.
Record Purse, Costly Taxes
Joshua stopped Paul in the sixth round of their heavyweight bout at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida, on Friday night. The contest was one of the most lucrative crossover fights in recent boxing history.
According to reports, Joshua and Paul shared a prize pot valued at around £137 million, with each fighter earning approximately £68.5 million.
The fight ended at 1:31 of the sixth round, meaning both boxers spent a total of 989 seconds in the ring.
Based on those figures, Joshua earned roughly £69,000 per second, or about £4.1 million per minute, during the bout.
US and UK Tax Obligations
Despite the headline figure, Joshua is unlikely to receive the full amount. As a UK resident who fought in the United States, he is liable for tax in both countries.
AceOdds estimates that about 37 per cent of his purse, around £25.6 million, will be paid to the US Internal Revenue Service. Although Florida does not impose state income tax, federal tax applies because the fight took place on American soil.
Joshua must also pay the difference between his total UK tax liability and the amount already paid in the US. This is estimated at about £5.5 million to HM Revenue and Customs, along with roughly £1.4 million in National Insurance contributions.
In total, his combined tax bill is expected to be around £32 million.
Joshua Reflects on Performance
While pleased with the result, Joshua admitted he was not fully satisfied with his performance against the YouTuber-turned-boxer.
Speaking to talkSPORT, he responded: “I deserve it,” when asked about criticism for allowing Paul to last six rounds.
He added: “Because we are elite fighters, if I put myself in the shoes of a coach, if my fighter did six rounds with Jake Paul. I would get him back in the gym tomorrow, give him a bit of a beating and get straight back to work. I’d be like, ‘How are you letting this kid take you six rounds? Are you crazy?’.
“But I can’t go back in time, but credit to him, he done well. I told him what would happen but it just took six rounds to do it.”
‘It Wasn’t About the Money’
Despite the massive payday, the former two-time unified heavyweight champion insisted financial gain was not his primary motivation.
“It’s not even my biggest payday; it’s not about money,” Joshua said.
“For me, it was more about the opportunity. I had to showcase my skills to the world.”
Even after the heavy tax deductions, the fight remains one of the most profitable outings of Joshua’s career, underlining the commercial power of crossover boxing events.
