British heavyweight has banked over £200m and claims money is major motivation ahead of Jermaine Franklin clash

Despite some recent setbacks, Anthony Joshua is still one of the world’s biggest sports stars.

The former two-time heavyweight world champion is one of boxing’s most famous names and returns to the ring this evening against Jermaine Franklin live on talkSPORT.

The 33-year-old has enjoyed a successful career that has seen him earn some massive paydays.

And after losing his belts to Oleksandr Usyk in back-to-back defeats, he is gearing up for another big payout tonight.

If AJ can claim a much-needed win over Franklin, a massive all-British clash against Tyson Fury could be back on, which would be another lucrative fight.

Anthony Joshua’s net worth

From the first encounter against Usyk, the Watford-born heavyweight walked away with £15million while his opponent gained £5m.

And in the rematch, despite having lost the first clash, the purse of £65m was split 50/50.

So from that fight alone, Joshua walked away with a massive £32.5m, which means the former Olympic Gold Medal boxer pocketed nearly £50m from his last two bouts.

Considering in 2019, when he faced Andy Ruiz Jr in Saudi Arabia, he gained another £50m – it is clear why Joshua is one of boxing’s richest-ever fighters.

Before AJ faced Usyk for the first time at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in 2021, the Brit fought Kubrat Pulev in December 2020.

COVID limited the attendance at Wembley Arena to 1,000, but Joshua still earned a tidy sum of £6m.

Before COVID’s emergence, Joshua sold out Wembley and the Principality Stadium and walked away with over £10m from each of his six fights leading up to the Pulev encounter.

This means he has earned an estimated £200m from boxing – but he isn’t done yet.

Speaking ahead of his comeback clash against Franklin at the O2 Arena in east London, Joshua revealed his main motivation for returning to the ring was money.

During a press conference to preview his fight with Franklin, Joshua’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, asked him what motivated him to carry on his career.

“Money,” Joshua replied. “I like making money. Straight up. Like, this is a prizefighting sport.

“I’ve been broke. My family has been broke. I know what this s*** means and I do it because I’m good at it and I hustle hard.

“When it’s all said and done no-one will care about me no more. So, I’ve got to make the most of it while I’m here.”

And though this bout won’t see him earn as much as he did against Usyk or Ruiz Jr, the 33-year-old is still set to walk away with over £10m, while his opponent gets a guaranteed £800,000.

Meanwhile, AJ has many mega-money sponsorship deals that top up his income.

Deals with Under Armour, Hugo Boss, Land Rover and Jaguar are all worth millions to Joshua and saw him earn a total of £8.9m in 2021.

He also recently left Sky Sports and signed an exclusive contract with DAZN that will see him rake in another £100m in exchange for two fights every 12 months until he retires.

Speaking after signing the DAZN deal, he said: “I’ve been working with DAZN and following its progress for a long time.

“We have enjoyed a really successful partnership in the US for many years and I know the team and understand the passion and drive of the business.

“DAZN’s vision and passion to innovate is what attracted me to the partnership.

“They are leading the digital landscape in sport and the future of sports broadcasting. I am really looking forward to a long and successful partnership.”

In 2020, The Sunday Times Rich List estimated Joshua to be worth £115million, but since then, he has added at least another £100m to his personal fortune.

And given he has openly admitted his only remaining motivation is money, we could see Joshua’s wealth double or even triple by the time he decides to hang up the gloves.

But before he does, we surely have to see that fight against Fury or we will all be left wondering what might have been.