Anthony Joshua Set to Lose Nearly Half of £70m Purse Against Jake Paul

Anthony Joshua will be hit in the wallet and potentially lose almost half of his £70m purse for beating Jake Paul.

British fighter Joshua took on YouTuber turned boxer Paul overnight at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida, in a bout which was broadcast live on Netflix.

The fight was scheduled to last for eight rounds, but Joshua secured victory in the sixth by knocking out Paul, who failed to beat the referee's count in the ring after being knocked to the canvas on multiple occasions throughout the mismatched encounter.

Joshua's record now stands at 29 victories from 33 fights as he secured victory upon his return to the ring since losing to Daniel Dubois at Wembley Stadium last September.

He has now laid down the gauntlet to fellow British heavyweight Tyson Fury and pledged to fight the Gypsy King in 2026.

Fury announced his retirement from boxing in January this year, following his second loss in a row at the hands of Oleksandr Usyk.

Paul suffered a broken jaw in the bout in Miami as he tasted defeat for the second time in his professional boxing career, which began in 2020, as Joshua joined Tommy Fury among those to have defeated the YouTuber, who has now won 12 of his 14 bouts in the ring.

For his victory in the fight - which was shown live on Netflix - Joshua has been handsomely rewarded financially.

Anthony Joshua beat Jake Paul. (Image: Getty)

Figures for the fight purse total have varied, but the most common figure which has been circulated is $184m, and that would mean with it being split evenly that each fighter would receive around £70m.

However, it could end up that Joshua might not see approaching half of his 50/50 fight purse share because one of life's certainties: paying tax.

According to a press release citing research from data experts AceOdds, Joshua will be hit with taxes both in the USA and the UK, meaning almost £33m could be taken away from his fight purse in the form of US Federal Tax, payments to HMRC and National Insurance contributions in the UK.

The press release says: "Research from data experts at AceOdds has revealed that, assuming the £70m figure is accurate, Joshua would be lumbered with a total tax bill of £31,386,203 on his earnings from the fight.

"That breakdown of that cost would be split between both the USA’s and UK’s tax authorities, with 37% of his earnings – £25,867,333 – going straight to the IRS to cover Joshua’s US tax burden.

"While there is no state tax in Florida, the United States government charges income tax at a highest rate of 37%, With the fight happening on US soil, Joshua would be required to pay their share first, which would equate to £25,867,333.

"Joshua would then also be liable to pay UK tax on global income, also at the highest rate of 45%. But, having already forked out a hefty amount stateside, the amount owed would be the difference between his total UK liability and the US tax already paid. That would result in £5,618,870 going to HMRC.

"Given his total earnings, Joshua would then need to pay another £1,401,257 in National Insurance contributions.

"After making all payments, Joshua would be left with £37,112,540, or just 53% of his initial £70,000,000."