Financial differences may hinder Anthony Joshua’s next bout.
Negotiations to make the bout with WBC champion Deontay Wilder possible have met a brickwall.
Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn confirmed he is reluctant to give into Wilder’s demands to pay $12.5 million which to him does not make any financial sense. Both fighters have a contrasting drawing power and earning abilities.
‘I saw reports that it’s a $100 million dollar fight – no it’s not. It can get there, if both guys are really built in America,’ Hearn told BoxingScene.com.
‘I think the fight is really worth, conservatively… I know my numbers and it does around $40 million dollars or $50 million dollars in profit from the show.
‘If we talk about generated, it’s totally something different. You have pay-per-view companies who take splits of the pay-per-view, you have to pay for arenas, undercards, hotels, flights, doping, everything. Let’s call it $40 million to be safe.
‘The $12.5 is what 31 or 32 per cent [of the 40 million], that’s more than fair. He doesn’t deserve more than that in my opinion. And people say we gave Joseph Parker 33 per cent – we didn’t and I don’t know where that number came from.
‘The offer to Deonay Wilder will be twice as much as what Joseph Parker made in the fight. Wilder has been offered five to six times his highest purse to fight Anthony Joshua. Anthony Joshua won’t even make anywhere near double his highest purse.
‘I feel that we’re getting penalized because somebody has done a s*** job with Deontay Wilder. You have a guy who is making $2 to 2.5 million a fight and people are like “he deserves $25 million”.
‘Why? On what basis? He has no profile. He can’t sell 10,000 tickets when he fights in a great fight in America. And we have a guy who is making all of this money, and can continue doing so, in risk-free fights. Now you’re asking our guy to be in the biggest fight of his career for a little more.
‘People don’t understand the simple economics and the reality of the situation. One guy is earning $2.5 million dollars and the other is earning ten times as much.
‘Joshua has overpaid his opponents. He overpaid Charles Martin, he overpaid Dillian Whyte, he overpaid Breazeale, he overpaid Takam, he overpaid Parker. We ain’t doing it again. We’re not going to overpay Deontay Wilder for this fight.
‘We want this fight, but does that mean that we’re going to roll over and let you play with our balls while we give Deontay Wilder something he doesn’t deserve – no.’