Joshua vs Pulev prize money: How much will boxers earn for heavyweight fight?

Joshua has been one of the biggest earners in boxing and returns to the ring after a year away

Anthony Joshua fights Kubrat Pulev with his world heavyweight titles on the line this Saturday, looking to start a winning streak and gain momentum heading into 2021 and a potential undisputed fight against Tyson Fury.

The Briton will top the bill at Wembley’s SSE Arena with the mandatory defence finally taking place after the pandemic postponed the pair’s previous date in June.

The revenue for the fight is less than usual, with the venue changed away from the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and despite 1,000 fans in attendance, the gate receipts will be a fraction of what it usually is for a Joshua fight, which has led to Eddie Hearn and Sky Sports maintaining the £24.95 pay-per-view price.

LIVE BLOG: Follow live coverage of Joshua vs Pulev

While Pulev is not seen as a major threat to Joshua, there is still pressure on the champion, who owns the WBA, WBO and IBF straps, having cruised to a wide points decision against Andy Ruiz Jr last time out in Saudi Arabia.

• Everything you need to know about Joshua vs Pulev
• When are the ring walks and when will fight start?
• How to watch the fight online and on TV

So with everything to lose, Joshua will have to find the balance of safely negotiating the veteran Bulgarian, while reaffirming his status as one of the sport’s most entertaining fighters, here is what we know about the prize money on offer for both fighters:

How much prize money will Joshua and Pulev earn?

There are no official purses revealed just yet for this fight, but Joshua is expected to earn in the region of £10m for this fight, while Pulev can expect to pocked around £3m.

Joshua’s purse is going to be significantly less than what he earned for regaining his titles against Ruiz Jr, regardless of the pandemic, given Saudi Arabia paid a reported £33m site fee to host the contest.

Joshua picked up a record purse for a British fighter last year at £46million, with Ruiz Jr, as the champion at the time, earning around £7.5m.

Joshua will have upside following the contest, with a cut of the revenue generated by pay-per-view buys, which could be up due to no crowd and anticipation to see the world champion after a year out of the ring, though the total could conceivably be hurt by the £24.95 fee.

When and where is the fight?

The fight is set for for Saturday, 12 December at Wembley’s SSE Arena in London, UK.

What time is the fight and when are the ring walks?

The fight will start around 10:30pm GMT, though there is a chance that the results on the undercard could bring the start time up somewhat.

Expect the ring walks to come just after 10pm GMT should there not be a series of early stoppages on the undercard, which will start at 6pm GMT.

Joshua and Pulev finally get it on this Saturday (AFP)

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What TV channel is Joshua vs Pulev on and is there a live stream?

Joshua is back on Sky Sports Box Office in the UK, and the pay-per-view price this time is £24.95, the same price it was for the Ruiz Jr rematch - despite Eddie Hearn insisting at the time that the enhanced price was a one-off.

You can order the fight online here and you are able to stream in live on desktop or through the app.

The fight outside the UK can be viewed on DAZN, with information about how to view the action in your region here.

When is the weigh-in?

There is no weight limit for the heavyweights, but for ceremonial purposes, you can watch the two fighters step onto the scales after the undercard fighters at 1pm on Friday, December 11. Coverage from the weight-in will be on Sky Sports Boxing’s YouTube page and Sky Sports News.

What fights are on the undercard?

• Lawrence Okolie v Nikodem Jezewski   - cruiserweight
• Hughie Fury v Mariusz Wach - heavyweight
• Martin Bakole v Sergey Kuzmin - WBC international heavyweight title
• Qais Ashfaq v Ashley Lane - super-bantamweight
• Florian Marku v Alex Fearon – welterweight
• Macaulay McGowan v Kieron Conway - super-welterweight

Odds

Joshua outright: 1/10

Joshua by knockout: 4/11

Joshua by decision: 7/2

Pulev outright: 6/1

Pulev by knockout: 9/1

Pulev by decision: 22/1

Draw: 25/1

Joshua celebrates recapturing his belts after defeating Ruiz Jr (Action)

Prediction

Pulev should be made for Joshua, if he can flick the switch to become the vicious finisher he was before the Ruiz fights. The straight right ought to land regularly and when Pulev wobbles, we expect the Briton to jump on the Bulgarian and finish him off to perfectly set up the undisputed fight with Fury in 2021. Joshua inside five round.

What are the fighters saying?

Joshua: "My body is just a vessel that carries my brain, so I have trained my brain more than I have trained my body. I am ready for war. I am ready for a fight and looking forward to it."

Pulev: “I will be absolutely different because I have a lot of experience from that fight and now I will be new Kubrat Pulev. It (Joshua-Fury) will be a good fight, but I don't believe that this fight is going to happen because I will win on Saturday night.

“We see a lot of mistakes from Anthony, a lot of bad sides to him. I think these mistakes, and the bad sides, stay. This was my late father's dream.

“That is why me and my brother are here. His project was that he have sons and for these boys to become boxing champions. And we are now real, this is now fact. He looks from above and I'm sure he's happy. He wants to win on Saturday night with me.”