Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury are reported to be in line for about $100 million each when they finally meet at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium on 11 December, in what would be the biggest payday of either man’s career. The combined purse has been put at nearly $200 million (£151 million), according to reports published on Wednesday, 28 October.
The key qualification matters: none of the figures has been officially confirmed. Neither fighter’s promoter has publicly confirmed the payments, and the breakdown of broadcasting, sponsorship and undercard money has not been disclosed. This article therefore reports the figures as reported estimates, not as confirmed purses.
According to the BBC, as cited in multiple reports, the two British heavyweights will split the money roughly equally, at about $100 million (£75 million) each. Earlier reports had put the figure higher, at £100 million each. The Times reported that Fury held out for a larger share and that reaching agreement on a 50-50 split took time.
Even at the lower reported figure, the payday would exceed each man’s previous career high, previously reported at around £65 million ($85 million). Promoter Frank Warren described the scale of the money as the reason the fight finally went ahead, calling the purses huge and, in his view, the highest of any British fighter’s career.
Why Cardiff, and why now
The venue choice was itself part of the negotiation. Joshua’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, said the former champion accepted a pay cut of more than £10 million ($13 million) to keep the fight in the United Kingdom. Saudi boxing powerbroker Turki Alalshikh, UFC chief Dana White and Netflix had pushed for Madison Square Garden in New York. Hearn put it bluntly: “To keep it in the UK, he (Joshua) has got to turn down eight figures plus.”
Cardiff was chosen partly because the Principality Stadium’s retractable roof removes weather risk for a December outdoor-scale event. The commercial demand is already clear: about 80,000 tickets sold out in roughly an hour on 9 October, with more than 500,000 people in the Ticketmaster queue, and face-value ticket prices ranging from £88.50 to £13,128 including fees. White said the gate was projected at about $34 million, which he described as a British record. Netflix subscribers will not have to pay extra to watch the fight.
A rivalry years in the making
The December contest would be the pair’s first professional meeting, after several failed attempts. Their representatives reached an agreement in principle for two contests in 2020, and contracts were signed the following year, when a meeting would have brought together the major heavyweight titles. That arrangement unravelled after Deontay Wilder won an arbitration case establishing his right to a third contest against Fury. Negotiations in 2022 also ended without a fight, despite Joshua accepting a proposed 60-40 purse split.
Both men appeared at a London news conference on 30 September, according to Netflix’s account of the event, underlining that this time the fight is actually scheduled rather than merely talked about.
What is confirmed, and what is not
Confirmed: the date, 11 December; the venue, the Principality Stadium in Cardiff; the broadcaster, Netflix; and the scale of ticket demand. Reported but unconfirmed: the exact purse split, the Netflix broadcasting payment, sponsorship income, and payments to undercard fighters. Readers should treat any precise purse figure with that caution until a promoter or broadcaster confirms it.
What happens next is straightforward: the build-up to 11 December, including undercard announcements and any official word on the money. Until then, the $100 million figure remains the most widely reported estimate — remarkable, plausible given the ticket and broadcast scale, but still an estimate.
FAQ
Q: How much are Joshua and Fury reported to earn? A: About $100 million (£75 million) each, from a reported combined purse of nearly $200 million (£151 million) — unconfirmed.
Q: When and where is the fight? A: 11 December at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, shown on Netflix.
Q: Have the purses been confirmed? A: No. Neither promoter has publicly confirmed the figures.
Sources
- The Trent: https://www.thetrentonline.com/joshua-and-fury-could-earn-100-million-each-for-cardiff-fight-2/
- Punch: https://punchng.com/joshua-fury-to-share-200m-purse/
- Times of India: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshowprint/134513034.cms
