Anthony Joshua Takes Massive Pay Cut to Bring Fury Fight to Britain
Anthony Joshua accepted at least a £10 million pay cut to move the Tyson Fury fight from New York to Cardiff.
Anthony Joshua has accepted a pay cut of at least £10 million to ensure his long-awaited showdown with Tyson Fury takes place in Britain, according to promoter Eddie Hearn.
The fight is set for December 11 at Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales, in front of a crowd expected to reach 80,000. The original plan called for a November 20 date at Madison Square Garden in New York.
"To keep it in the UK he's got to turn down eight figures plus," Hearn told Boxing News 24. Hearn said Joshua asked him to make the call, but the promoter insisted it was a financial decision only the fighter could make.
The move to Cardiff cost event organizers an estimated £53 million in lost revenue compared to the New York option. Hearn recommended the switch because he believed fighting at home improved Joshua's chances of winning.
Principality Stadium was chosen over Wembley, which has an 11 p.m. curfew that would not accommodate the fight's likely late start. The Cardiff venue features a retractable roof and can hold roughly 80,000 fans. The main event is expected to start after midnight to accommodate Netflix's American audience.
One complication: Fury carries his own substantial British following, which limits how much of a true home advantage Joshua can expect in Wales. Still, the atmosphere will tilt heavily in AJ's favor.
Joshua is betting that a victory over Fury on home soil would generate enough momentum and rematch revenue to recover the money he left on the table. At this stage of both men's careers, the fight cannot wait any longer, and Joshua decided the setting mattered more than the check.
I respect the hell out of this move. Joshua could have taken the easy money in New York, fought in front of a split crowd at MSG, and nobody would have blinked. Instead he left eight figures on the table to fight Fury in front of 80,000 people in Cardiff. That is a man who believes he wins this fight.
The late start is annoying. After midnight for a British fight on British soil is the Netflix tax, and fans in the stadium will feel it. But the atmosphere at Principality Stadium with a roof closed and 80,000 screaming is going to be electric. MSG cannot touch that energy.
Fury is no stranger to UK crowds, so this is not a gimme home advantage. But Joshua will have the majority behind him, and that matters in a close fight. I think AJ knows the judges will look at him kindly in Cardiff, and if it goes to the scorecards, he is in a better spot than he would be in New York. Smart play, big sacrifice.
