ANTHONY JOSHUA has reportedly taken a whopping pay cut for his comeback fight with Jermaine Franklin.
The former two-time unified heavyweight champion will bid to get back in the win column at the O2 tonight following consecutive losses to pound-for-pound king Oleksandr Usyk.
SplashAnthony Joshua returns to the ring tonight for a showdown with Jermaine Franklin[/caption]
AFPThe fight will be AJ’s first since back-to-back defeats to Oleksandr Usyk[/caption]
SPLASHThe Brit is set to earn a staggering £55million LESS for his fight with Franklin than he did against Usyk[/caption]
AJ earned a pretty penny for his back-to-back bouts with the undefeated Ukrainian, pocketing £65million for their Saudi showdown last August.
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But he’s set to receive a staggering £55m LESS for his do-or-die dust-up with American gunslinger Franklin.
That’s according to The Mirror, who claim the golden boy of British boxing will pocket a cool £10million for his return to the O2.
Despite having already banked millions of pounds, Joshua admits adding a few more zeroes to his bank account is one of his primary motivations for the latter stages of his career.
When asked in February what is driving him on, he told Eddie Hearn: “Money.
“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.
BETTING SPECIAL – ODDS AND OFFERS FOR JOSHUA vs FRANKLIN
“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.”
Defeat to Franklin will end Joshua’s hopes of getting back into the world title picture, a fact he’s all too aware of.
He said: “How long can this run go on for, three or four years?
“And you know how quick time goes.
Anthony Joshua vs Jermaine Franklin – Date, live stream, TV channel and all you need to know about heavyweight bout
“We’re saying this now and we can look back in two years, three years, and be like f***ing hell where’s the time gone?
“So, if I was going to do another run after this, you’re talking about fighting into my forties.
“And I truly believe that boxing is a young man’s sport,
“It takes a real solid character like Bernard Hopkins, George Foreman, Wladimir Klitschko and Alexander Povetkin, to go on into their forties.
“But I think this is a run I want to make successful and then, you know, hopefully, go out on top.”