Top 5 fight purses banked by British Boxers
In recent years, the fight earnings of boxers have boomed because of the increased hype among fans. British boxers are not very far away from catching up to American boxers in terms of the fight purse. This feat was achieved by the hard work and dedication of British boxers like Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury.
Joshua and Fury are two of the most sought-after heavyweight fighters to emerge from the United Kingdom since Lennox Lewis. Joshua is one of the highest-paid boxers in history, with a net worth of about $80 million.
However, it's intriguing to see where British Boxer's big night actually rates among the most lucrative matches ever fought by Boxers throughout the world in this era of mega-money fights and nine-figure multi-fight contracts. Without further ado, let’s begin:
5. Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr – $25m/ £19.3m
Even though Andy Ruiz Jr. may have pulled off one of the biggest surprises in heavyweight history in their first encounter, AJ went on to face a favorite against the spread in online sports betting. Andy's compensation check was noticeably small compared to Anthony Joshua's. Joshua earned a staggering $25 million in that battle, and Ruiz made merely $4 million.
4. Tyson Fury vs Dillian Whyte – $29.5m/ £22m
The unbeaten Gypsy King won a $4.1 million bonus that was laid aside for the fight's victor, so all that preparation has paid off very literally. For Fury, this reward was the icing on the cake. Whyte complained about the basic split, which was an 80-20 split for each boxer just for entering the ring. The basic purse for the bout was $36.9 million, of which a whopping $29.5 million went to Fury and the rest $7.4 million went to Whyte.
In front of a sold-out crowd of 94,000 people at Wembley, Tyson Fury sensationally knocked out Dillian Whyte in the sixth round to retain his WBC heavyweight title.
3. Tyson Fury vs Deontay Wilder 3 – $30m/ £25.94m
UFC 270's overall prize money came to $1.8 million. Fury earned a stunning $30 million, while Wilder earned $20 million, making the overall payout 25 times greater than UFC 270. The battle, which Fury won by knockout in the eleventh round, was widely viewed as the biggest campaign of the year and one of the best heavyweight bouts ever.
2. Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr 2 – $60m/ £47m
In 2019 Anthony Joshua vs. Andy Ruiz 2 bout generated an almost unprecedented amount of buzz, and as a result, many organizations wanted to host it. The Saudi Arabian government ultimately prevailed in this fierce bidding war.
The high purse of $30 million is something that was reflected in Joshua's enormous earnings, which at the time was the greatest ever for a British fighter. Joshua prevailed as the ultimate winner in that fight which will help him earn more in his future fights. Andy Ruiz Jr. was reportedly unable to secure more than $9 million.
1. Anthony Joshua vs Oleksandr Usyk 2 – $120m/ £100m
The heavyweight rematch was split 50/50, with the fighters earning a guaranteed $75 million each. However, because of Joshua's several sponsorships, he received an additional $44 million in bonuses.
The rematch between Oleksandr Usyk and Anthony Joshua was just as exciting as the first. This time, the fight was held in Saudi Arabia's Jeddah SuperDome, which set a record for the largest ever boxing site deal. The site agreement amount was $80 million, shattering the previous record set by Andy Ruiz Jr. vs. Anthony Joshua 2 ($60 million).