Anthony Joshua: AJ on course to surpass Floyd Mayweather and become the first billionaire boxer with Wladimir Klitschko the first of 10 super fights lined up
Olympic Champion has already earned £10million and has all his biggest fights waiting to be signed
ANTHONY JOSHUA is on target to surpass Floyd Money Mayweather and become boxing’s first BILLIONAIRE, with Wladimir Klitschko the first of 10 super fights in five money-mounting years, before he quits at just 32.
The IBF champ already has an Olympic gold medal and a personal fortune of £10million and he and the Doctor Steelhammer could split around £80m when they clash on April 29 at Wembley.
The giant 27-year-old is still yet to face a big name or fight out of the UK but already has a handful of lucrative marketing contracts, like the three-year deal with American sportswear company Under Armour. And his value will rocket as he moves up the rankings.
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After Saturday’s walkover against Eric Molina, the Watford ace's next fight will be against a 41-year-old Klitschko - who will have 19-months of ring rust by the time they meet - and if that's a success he can focus on WBC boss Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury.
Joshua's promoter, Eddie Hearn at Matchroom, already has a deal for American broadcaster Showtime to show AJ's fights and that will make the Wilder match-up a doddle to plan as the American boxes exclusively on that channel, meaning all the politics that often delays or blocks major fights could be circumnavigated swiftly.
Obviously the domestic showdown with Fury depends much more on his state of mind than his TV deal.
Hearn is hoping London major Sadiq Khan will allow 90,000 paying fans into the home of English football after he vowed to help the sport grow with major shows in the capital getting political backing.
Fighter-turned-film-star Scott Welch - a former British champion - reckons he is on course to go beyond Mayweather and Iron Mike Tyson in career earnings, especially as he has a head level enough to keep hold of it
Speaking to the Telegraph, Welch said: "I believe that Anthony Joshua will be the first billionaire fighter. I really do believe that.
“Floyd Mayweather has earned 500 or 600 million, Mike Tyson earned 300 odd million 20 or 30 years ago.
"This guy, as a heavyweight, has got the potential to be the first billionaire fighter.
“He's going to rule for the next eight or nine years. Within six months to a year he'll be unbeatable.”
And even Molina's manager, Lee Holliday, backed up the theory that if Joshua stays fit and boxes for his target five more years - fitting in two fights per annum - he will crack the 10-figure mark with a billion pounds in the bank.
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As well as being a money-making machine, Joshua is unlike the wild-spending champions who went before him.
Tyson broke all of boxing’s financial records on the way to the top but blew the lot – and more – on the tragic way down on cars, houses, drink, drugs and prostitutes.
Joshua, in stark contrast, still lives in a modest ex-council house with his mum and does the daily chores in exchange for her making all his favourite – and many – meals.
Despite his obvious marketability - and the fighting lucre heading his way - Joshua maintains his five-year plan is about leaving the sweet science with all his faculties and not pound notes.
Before Molina he said: “I’m 27 now. Maybe I’ll be around for another five years.
“The legacy I will leave is that I’ve come up the hard way, stayed true to myself.
“I could walk away from boxing now. It’s all about being happy – and I’m happy. As long as I’m happy, that’s all that matters. I don’t do it for the money, I don’t do it for the glory nights.
“When I look deep within myself, I enjoy boxing, but I can walk away now.”
The only thing that might prevent him strolling away from the sport is the giant sack of cash he’ll be hauling over both his massive shoulders.