Anthony Joshua’s wealth grew to an eye-popping £115million during the last 12 months according to the latest Sunday Times Rich List for 2021 – revealed on Friday.
AJ had a bumper 2019-20 as he more than doubled his wealth to £107million on the back of a rematch victory over Andy Ruiz Jr in Saudi Arabia. That victory regained the IBF, WBA and WBO world heavyweight titles he had lost to Ruiz six months earlier.
Joshua Rich List rise slows
The 2020-21 period was much quieter for the 31-year-old Watford superstar, as he only fought once during the 12 months. But it’s believed he still earned more than £8million for his crushing ninth-round knockout of Bulgarian Kubrat Pulev last December.
The Sunday Times list also says Joshua’s main company – Spartan Promotions – had equity of more than £91million (to February 2020) with profits of more than £46million in the 12 months leading up to that date.
That fight against Pulev took place before a small socially-distanced crowd of around 1,000 – a far cry from the 90,000 who have regularly packed Wembley Stadium for his wins over the likes of Wladimir Klitschko and Alexander Povetkin.
AJ of course was expected to face huge British rival and fellow world heavyweight champion Tyson Fury in a massive unification match in Saudi Arabia on August 14. A staggering site fee of $155million (£109million) had been agreed with the Saudis.
Joshua Fury clash on ice
That bout is now on ice however with Fury being ordered by an arbitrator to instead face Deontay Wilder in a trilogy match in Las Vegas on July 24.
Joshua himself is now expected to face WBO mandatory challenger Oleksandr Usyk in late August. It is hoped if both men win then Fury vs Joshua can eventually take place before the end of 2021.
So, more bumps in the road for Joshua then, as he looks to become boxing’s first undisputed heavyweight champion since Lennox Lewis in 1999. But with three belts to his name, and a slew of lucrative endorsement deals with blue-chip brands, he remains a hot financial property.
Joshua remains tied from a UK broadcast perspective to Sky Sports – their partnership has regularly smashed domestic box-office records. The Ruiz rematch alone delivered around 1.6million buys at £24.95 each and even the Pulev bout is thought to have drawn more than 700,000 buys.
AJ’s promoter Eddie Hearn is set to leave Sky for DAZN in July of this year for a new UK deal. That deal will not include Joshua though. AJ’s recent fights have all aired on DAZN in the United States.
