Boxer Who Turned Down £5.5m Anthony Joshua Fight Now Earns Fraction of That Fee

A boxer who turned down a staggering £5.5 million fight against Anthony Joshua now earns a fraction of that fee.

Joshua returns to action next Friday when he faces Jake Paul in a professional heavyweight fight on Netflix.

Both men are earning massive purses as they are sharing a whopping £140 million prize pot.

On this occasion, Joshua is not the A-side because he's fighting on a Most Valuable Promotions show.

But he is typically the main draw and a big-ticket fight given his profile in the sport.

Luis Ortiz, however, rejected a hugely lucrative offer from Eddie Hearn to face the Brit in 2019 when Jarrell Miller dropped out of their proposed bout after he failed three drug tests.

Matchroom chief Hearn claims he offered Ortiz a deal worth £5.5 million to face Joshua in New York City but got 'nothing back'.

"I got two phone calls when the [Miller] news broke straight away. One was Jay Jimenez who is Luis Ortiz’s manager," he told iFL TV.

"Jay Jimenez phoned me up and said, 'I can’t believe this, I don’t think Luis will be ready'.

"I said, 'Find out if Luis will be ready'.

"He came back the next day or two days later and said, 'Make us an offer'."

Luis Ortiz turned down a fight against Anthony Joshua in 2019. Image: Getty

Hearn added: "I made them an offer of $6million - that was my first offer - no reply, this was on Friday. Monday I said, 'I’ll call you'.

"Later on that day I came back and said, 'Right, this is it, $7million for June 1. [If he wins, he gets] a rematch for quite a bit more and if he loses, I’ll give you another fight for a lot of money for security'.

"Nothing back.”

Ortiz, though, did land a huge fight in 2019 as he was matched against Deontay Wilder, who secured a seventh-round knockout in their WBC world title bout.

He beat Alexander Flores and Charles Martin before facing Ruiz Jr. in 2022.

Luis Ortiz during his bout against Deontay Wilder. Image: Getty

But Ortiz succumbed to Ruiz Jr. and has since fought on small hall shows, including an appearance in Colombia.

He hasn't fought since his first round victory over Phillip Penson in September.

The 46-year-old made a reported $50,000 (£37,000) against Penson - a fraction of what he was offered to face Joshua in 2019.

But the veteran Cuban is pushing for a fight against the elite heavyweights, including Joshua.

"I think in my mind... Anthony Joshua, Oleksandr Usyk, Daniel Dubois, Moses Itauma. I'm ready for everybody," he said.