After dominating Mexico's Andy Ruiz, Jr. last Saturday in Saudi Arabia, heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua has a bank account that reads over £100 million, which the Brit can easily double depending on who he fights next. A mega-fight with Deontay Wilder is estimated to deliver a prize purse of no less £100 million to Joshua.
It would be a gigantic haul for the Brit champ who had to go through 23 professional bouts to amass £49 million. The Olympic gold medalist doubled his winnings with the convincing victory over Ruiz, and he can bump up again by a hundred percent given the right opponent.
For Team Joshua, the logical choice would be Wilder as the showdown is deemed "the fight the world wants to see."
That's according to Mark Seltzer, part of the inner Joshua circle, who told the Mirror: "A mega-fight with Wilder could see them attract a purse of £200 million."
The boxing manager boasted the estimated purse could go even higher, claiming money flowing from the Middle East and the Far East would pay for the mega-fight that is envisioned to match or exceed the Mayweather-Pacquiao duel. That showdown generated £250 million for the prizefighters to split.
For the Joshua-Wilder match, the sky is the limit for the British boxer, Seltzer said.
However, a face-off with Wilder will not be an easy route. The American is scheduled to slug it out with Tyson Fury in February 2020 before he can even consider a duel with Joshua that mostly will be staged in English soils.
For Joshua's part, the next mandatory foe for him is Ukrainian Oleksandr Usyk. The WBO titlist will need to duke it out with the challenger before June 4, or he will be forced to surrender his belt.
The Sun said there are other fighters out there looking to face Joshua atop the ring. Wilder, Fury, and Usyk are naturally on the cards, and so is Ruiz. The Brit has committed a trilogy with the Mexican and looks quite intent on following through.
Another option is Kubrat Pulev, as the Bulgarian is lined up on top to take on Joshua for the IBF crown.
However, boxing pundits have suggested that Joshua might just pick Dillian Whyte over the others because the champ has a score to settle. Whyte had scored a win over Joshua in an amateur bout in 2009. Surely, that is a blot that the heavyweight king wants to erase.
The Sun said Joshua has already indicated he wanted his next fight to be held at home, and if possible, he'll box with a fellow Brit. Joshua is equally ready to face a mandatory challenger, and in any case, the next bout is tipped to be a mega-fight.
