Joshua to accept £6m Pay Cut to Fight Wilder in UK

Unbeaten Nigerian- British professional boxer, Anthony Joshua could eventually fight Deontay Wilder at Wembley – the venue for his unforgettable victory over Wladimir Klitschko

Sportinglife.ng can report that Joshua, 28, is willing to snub the biggest pay day of his career to fight in the UK again, this was learnt on Friday.

Promoter Eddie Hearn reportedly met Joshua and said: “He feels like he (Joshua) owes it to the UK fans to do it at home — at the moment the fight makes more money in America.

“But it gets to the stage where we are asking ‘Why are we looking to do this in the US?’

“Because it’s more money — but is that really important? I know £5m or £6m sounds like a lot of money but he’s built the right to have the fight in the UK.”

Unbeaten Joshua — the WBA, WBO and IBF champion — turned pro in 2013 and has never fought outside of Britain since. Hearn added: “The T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas only holds 18,000 so how many Brits we can get in? We could take 40,000 but how many would we get allocated?

“A stadium fight in the UK means nearly five times that number.”

Joshua’s Matchroom deal is up later this year but it is understood he is close to a new agreement.

Asked if he expects AJ to sign, Hearn said: “There will be an announcement made in due course.”

The Matchroom supremo is now in New York to announce details of boxing’s first $1billion broadcast package — with streaming giants DAZN.

The deal, which could run until 2026, will involve Matchroom staging 16 shows on American soil every year while 16 of Hearn’s UK cards will also be streamed live on the platform in America.

He said: “This is truly historic and will change the face of boxing.”