Anthony Joshua and Oleksandr Usyk will each earn more than £30 million for their rematch of the unified heavyweight title in Jeddah tonight.
Saudi Arabian government have spent approximately $80 million, or £65.4 million, to arrange the heavyweight battle, with the two scheduled to split the money 50-50. Due to their initial contract and rematch clause, Joshua made significantly more than Andy Ruiz Jr, who was champion leading into the bout, the last time he went to the Middle East to compete in Riyadh.
However, because Usyk was a mandatory challenger for Joshua’s belts when they faced in September, Eddie Hearn and Matchroom Boxing had less say in the purse split. Now, the couple will split the benefits of a large sum of money, with half going to each and the Brit taking a sizable pay cut from his previous Saudi trip.
As an amateur, Usyk won gold medals in the heavyweight division at both the 2011 World Championships and the 2012 Olympics. He became a pro in 2013, and in his 15th fight as a pro, he won the undisputed cruiserweight championship. Three of his titles came from the first World Boxing Super Series. He won the Muhammad Ali Trophy, the lineal cruiserweight title, and The Ring magazine’s title. Sports Illustrated, ESPN, The Ring, and the Boxing Writers Association of America all named Usyk the Fighter of the Year for 2018. (BWAA). [4] [5][6]
In 2018, Usyk became the fourth male boxer in history, after Jermain Taylor, Bernard Hopkins, and Terence Crawford, to hold the WBA, WBC, IBF, and WBO titles at the same time. He was the first undisputed champion from Ukraine. He is known for how quickly he reached his goals. He won his first world title in his tenth fight, and by his fifteenth fight, he was the undisputed champion of his weight class. In 2019, Usyk gave up his cruiserweight titles so he could move up to the heavyweight division. At that point, he had fought sixteen times and won against five world champions or former world champions.
