TLDR
- Anthony Joshua will earn up to £70 million for his fight against Jake Paul this Friday in Miami
- Joshua has been out of action for most of 2025 due to injury following his September 2024 loss to Daniel Dubois
- Promoter Eddie Hearn confirmed Joshua could earn around $100 million for a fight with Tyson Fury in 2026
- Critics heavily favor Joshua over Paul, with UFC fighter Matt Brown calling anyone picking Paul “dumb”
- Joshua plans to fight again in February before pursuing a summer 2026 showdown with Fury
Sources: AllOutFighting | Sky Sports | MMA Fighting
Anthony Joshua will earn up to £70 million for his fight against Jake Paul this Friday in Miami, with an even larger payday awaiting him in 2026. Promoter Eddie Hearn confirmed that Joshua’s planned bout with Tyson Fury will surpass the Paul purse, potentially reaching $100 million.
The former two-time heavyweight world champion returns to the ring after a 15-month absence. Joshua, 36, has not fought since his devastating fifth-round knockout loss to Daniel Dubois in September 2024.
Joshua has been sidelined for most of 2025 due to injury. He is using the Paul fight as a tune-up to gain ring time before a busy 2026 schedule.
Record-Breaking Purses for Both Fights
Hearn discussed the financial details of both fights during an appearance on Clubhouse Boxing. “It’s not a million miles away in all honesty,” Hearn said when comparing the two purses.
“The Fury fight is a bigger fight financially, but it is pretty close,” Hearn explained. “He has had a couple of astonishing pay days in his career, and this is right up there with them.”
The promoter defended the decision to take the Paul fight despite criticism from some boxing experts. “There is not a man alive that would not have accepted this fight in AJ’s position,” Hearn said.
4 days til JAKE PAUL vs. ANTHONY JOSHUA
LIVE only on Netflix
Friday December 19
8 PM ET | 5 PM PT#JakeJoshua pic.twitter.com/5gZQ4ntJmF— Netflix (@netflix) December 15, 2025
Hearn noted that Joshua has typically avoided unconventional matchups. He recalled offering Joshua the Francis Ngannou fight before Fury took it, but Joshua declined until Ngannou proved himself credible.
Critics Dismiss Paul’s Chances
Joshua enters Friday’s fight as a heavy favorite over the YouTuber-turned-boxer. UFC veteran Matt Brown dismissed anyone picking Paul to win, calling such predictions illogical.
“You are not a fight expert for calling Jake Paul to win,” Brown said on The Fighter vs. The Writer podcast. “You’re going against everything that a fight expert would ever take into account.”
Brown pointed to Joshua’s resume, which includes victories over former champions like Wladimir Klitschko, Dillian Whyte, and Joseph Parker. Paul has never defeated a legitimate professional boxer at heavyweight.
Some fighters have backed Paul, including Tyson Fury, Demetrious Johnson, and Nate Diaz. Brown suggested these predictions are attempts to look smart if an unlikely upset occurs.
“If you’re wrong about it, nobody remembers,” Brown said. “But if you make the prediction, everybody is going to remember it.”
.@iamtheimmortal calls out fighters picking Jake Paul over Anthony Joshua:
"What we have seen shows no indication that Jake Paul has a chance in a legitimate boxing match against a former, multiple time world champion Anthony Joshua.”
(🎥 @DamonMartin) pic.twitter.com/mZltaGTOLh
— MMA Fighting (@MMAFighting) December 16, 2025
Brown referenced Joshua’s brutal second-round knockout of Ngannou in 2024 as evidence of the skill gap. Paul’s lone professional loss came against Tommy Fury, a much smaller and less experienced fighter than Joshua.
Assuming Joshua wins Friday, he plans to fight again in February before pursuing a summer showdown with Fury. Frank Warren, Fury’s promoter, confirmed that talks are progressing but nothing has been signed yet.
“There has been some talks going on. There’s nothing signed yet, but Tyson has indicated that if it’s the right deal, he would definitely do it,” Warren told Sky Sports. “I think it is going in the right direction, and hopefully, we will get some news pretty soon.”
Warren expressed confidence the fight will happen based on recent reports. The potential all-British heavyweight clash would be one of the biggest fights in boxing and one of the toughest challenges of Joshua’s career.
