Anthony Joshua is set to relinquish a substantial
portion of his earnings following his sixth-round knockout of Jake Paul at the
Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida, on Friday. The British heavyweight sent Paul
to the canvas but admitted that his performance could have been sharper.
Speaking to talkSPORT, the 36-year-old said, “I
deserve it. Because we are elite fighters, if I put myself in the shoes of a
coach, and my fighter lasted six rounds with Jake Paul, I’d get him back in the
gym immediately. How are you letting this kid take you six rounds? Are you
crazy?” He added, “But I can’t go back in time. Credit to him, he did
well. I told him what would happen; it just took six rounds to do it.”
Despite his candid self-critique, Joshua has reason to
celebrate financially. Reports indicate he and Paul shared a £137 million prize
pot equally, earning approximately £68.5 million each. Breaking it down, Joshua
made roughly £69,000 per second, or £4.1 million per minute, during his 989
seconds in the ring before referee Christopher Young stopped the bout at 1:31
of round six.
However, Joshua will not take home the full amount. As
a UK resident, he must pay both American and British taxes. Approximately 37%
of his prize money—around £25.6 million—will go to the IRS. While Florida has
no state tax, federal US income tax still applies. In addition, Joshua will owe
HMRC roughly £5.5 million to cover the difference between his UK tax liability
and US taxes already paid, plus £1.4 million for National Insurance
contributions, bringing his total tax bill to about £32 million.
Joshua emphasized that money was not his primary
motivation for the fight. “It’s not even my biggest payday; it’s not about
money. For me, it was more about the opportunity. I had to showcase my skills
to the world,” he said.
The victory adds another high-profile win to Joshua’s
career while highlighting the financial and tax complexities of global boxing
events.
Comments:
Leave a Reply