The man who once claimed ‘money isn’t that impressive’ has seemingly had a change of heart. Anthony Joshua has announced that the first steps in his quest to become a three-time world champion will begin with a fight against YouTube influencer Jake Paul on December 19.
The American’s qualifications as a legitimate dance partner for Joshua make for questionable reading: no world championship bouts, just one heavyweight contest – THAT pathetic ‘fight’ involving Mike Tyson – while he has fallen well short when facing the only credible opponent to meet him in the ring, Tommy Fury.
So, what could possibly motivate Joshua to take a fight with a man who has no business sharing the square circle with him?
‘We didn’t expect that [comeback fight] to be against Jake Paul, but it just so happens that if it is, it’s for 50 times more money than we were going to fight for,’ said Joshua’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, last week.
To be precise, Joshua is expected to take home a whopping £70million from this indisputable mismatch.
‘I think it would be virtually impossible for the levels of money involved to turn down the opportunity to be in that fight,’ Hearn said in a rare admission of where his fighter’s values truly lie in 2025.
Because let’s not forget the humble backstory that, alongside his dynamite boxing skills, propelled Joshua to the summit of British sport.
His journey from an unruly boy from Watford, born to Nigerian parents, who swapped selling drugs for boxing gloves before becoming an Olympic and world heavyweight champion – all in the space of 10 electrifying years – is well told and celebrated.
That Hollywood rags-to-riches story made Joshua a marketer’s dream, a social media phenomenon and a genuine role model for millions – a responsibility AJ acknowledged and embraced with open arms.
‘Ultimately, no one is going to remember everything about my boxing unless they are a hardcore fan; my legacy should be about the type of character I am,’ he told the Evening Standard in 2021.
Joshua’s legacy has long hinged on his desire to ‘give back’ to the sport that effectively saved him from tredding a dark path.
When named an Ambassador for World Boxing in 2017, Joshua said: ‘It didn’t make me but it might have saved me. To the sport that gave me discipline, I owe you!’
Earlier, in 2016, Joshua set out what separates him from his peers.
‘I’ve been lucky that I’ve been around good people, who kept me grounded and taught me,’ he said. ‘When you are around people who have money, you realise money isn’t that impressive, it’s about your class, morals and how you conduct yourself.’
Did Joshua envision part of his gift to boxing being a circus fight that threatens to undermine the very legitimacy of the sport, let alone his legacy? Where does a fight with Paul sit on his moral compass?
There has undeniably been a shift in Joshua’s psyche. His two crushing defeats by Oleksandr Usyk in 2021 and 2022, coupled with the realisation that his peak years are certainly behind him, will have no doubt seen Joshua take stock of what he wants to reap from the few years he has left in the sport.
‘Money. I like making money,’ he said when asked for his main motivation after his back-to-back defeats by Usyk, before desperately attempting to row back.
‘Money was just the first thing that came into my mind then but it’s legacy as well,’ the PR-savvy Joshua later said. ‘Money is just part of a big jigsaw puzzle.
‘The reason I said money was I know how much it helps people. Money is my love language because I can’t be there physically or emotionally because I am working but I can wire you some cash.
‘I can’t be there for people, I can’t be a shoulder to cry on because I don’t have the time or energy for that – I need to train – but if I can help you out then I will. I know how much finances help and I do a lot of charity work that needs funding.
‘I know what it is like to have nothing and for nobody to give you a look-in or care. Being in a position where I can help means a lot and that’s where money comes into it.’
Joshua’s nearest and dearest will no doubt be rewriting their Christmas lists after the events of the past few days, then.
But the fans who have idolised him and backed him in recent years – where the highs have been in short supply – will be feeling short-changed.
