Joshua set to pay £32m in tax after earning £68.5m from Jake Paul fight

Anthony Joshua is expected to give up a sizeable chunk of his purse after knocking out Jake Paul in their heavyweight bout in Miami, but the former world champion says he accepts any criticism that comes with the fight. 

The British boxer stopped the social media star-turned-fighter in the sixth round at the Kaseya Center on Friday night, flooring Paul before ending the contest emphatically.

Despite the clear victory, the 36-year-old admitted his display was not perfect.

Speaking to talkSPORT, Joshua said he understood why some fans felt the fight should not have lasted that long. “I deserve it,” he said when asked about the backlash.

“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.”

Joshua and Paul reportedly shared a prize pot of around £137 million, with each fighter earning approximately £68.5 million from the Netflix-broadcast bout. Referee Christopher Young stopped the contest at 1:31 of the sixth round, after the pair had spent a combined 989 seconds in the ring.

That figure equates to roughly £69,000 per second or £4.1 million per minute for Joshua.

However, the Watford-born former two-time unified heavyweight champion will not take home the full amount. As a UK resident fighting in the United States, Joshua is liable for tax in both countries.

According to AceOdds, about 37 per cent of his purse, roughly £25.6 million, will be paid to the Internal Revenue Service. Although Florida has no state income tax, the bout took place on US soil, making Joshua subject to federal income tax at the highest rate.

He must also settle the balance of his UK tax obligations, owing an estimated £5.5 million to HMRC, along with around £1.4 million in National Insurance contributions. In total, Joshua’s tax bill is expected to be in the region of £32 million.

Despite the eye-watering figures, Joshua insists money was not his primary motivation for accepting the fight. “It’s not even my biggest payday; it’s not about money,” he said. “For me, it was more about the opportunity. I had to showcase my skills to the world.”

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