Anthony Joshua knocked out Jake Paul in the sixth round in Miami on Friday night, but the British boxer faces a hefty tax bill of around £32m from his £68.5m earnings.
08:44, 22 Dec 2025Updated 14:41, 22 Dec 2025
(Image: PA)
Anthony Joshua is poised to relinquish a considerable share of his earnings after his knockout triumph over Jake Paul. Joshua sent Paul to the canvas in the sixth round of their heavyweight showdown at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida on Friday.
Despite emerging victorious from the highly-anticipated encounter, the 36 year old conceded he could have delivered a stronger performance against the YouTuber-turned-pugilist.
In an interview with talkSPORT, Joshua responded: “I deserve it,” when questioned about potential criticism for letting Paul survive six rounds. He continued: “Because we are elite fighters, if I put myself in the shoes of a coach, if my fighter did six rounds with Jake Paul. I would get him back in the gym tomorrow, give him a bit of a beating and get straight back to work. I’d be like, ‘How are you letting this kid take you six rounds? Are you crazy?'”.
“But I can’t go back in time, but credit to him, he done well. I told him what would happen but it just took six rounds to do it.”
Notwithstanding Joshua’s self-critique, the two-time unified heavyweight champion has much to be pleased about after pocketing a sizeable sum. Reports indicate that he and Paul divided a prize pot valued at roughly £137million equally between them, reports the Express.
Referee Christopher Young formally called a halt to proceedings at 1:31 of the sixth round, meaning Paul (12-2) and Joshua (29-4, 26 KOs) competed for a combined duration of 989 seconds. According to reports indicating each fighter earned £68.5m from the fight, the British boxer consequently made roughly £69k per second, or £4.1m per minute, whilst inside the ring.
(Image: Ed Mulholland/Getty Images for Netflix)
However, Joshua is unlikely to receive his full earnings from the Netflix event. As a UK resident, the Watford-born fighter must fulfil tax requirements to both American and British tax authorities.
According to AceOdds, 37 per cent of Joshua’s prize money, approximately £25.6m, will go directly to the IRS. Whilst Florida has no state tax, he still faces US income tax at the highest rate, as the bout took place on American soil.
Joshua must also settle the difference between his total UK tax liability and the US tax already paid, which amounts to roughly £5.5m owed to HMRC.
A further £1.4m must be paid for National Insurance contributions, bringing Joshua’s total tax bill to around £32m.
Despite this, Joshua maintains that money wasn’t his main motivation for taking on the Paul fight. “It’s not even my biggest payday; it’s not about money,” he said.
“For me, it was more about the opportunity. I had to showcase my skills to the world.”