Deontay Wilder’s team offers $50 million to Anthony Joshua for a heavyweight title fight this fall
The team of World Boxing Council heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder emailed three-belt champion Anthony Joshua on Wednesday with an offer of at least $50 million to fight in the U.S. in the fall, Wilder promoter Lou DiBella told the Los Angeles Times.
The bout would take someplace at the site of the Wilder team’s choosing at a date between September and December.
Wilder, after a stirring rally to stop Cuba’s previously unbeaten Luis Ortiz by 10th-round technical knockout in March, was previously offered $12.5 million to fight Joshua (21-0, 20 knockouts) in the United Kingdom.
Backed by manager Al Haymon and Showtime, which would likely televise the bout between the two unbeaten champions on pay-per-view, Wilder (40-0, 39 KOs) sent the email himself to promoter Eddie Hearn and Joshua, according to DiBella.
There is no rematch clause connected to the deal, and if total revenue exceeds $100 million, Joshua would receive 50% of the total, said DiBella.
Haymon, DiBella and Showtime have been involved in boxing for decades and expect sales for the bout to go beyond $100 million considering the 2015 Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao bout generated a record $600 million in live-gate and pay-per-view sales.
Joshua defeated Joseph Parker by unanimous decision in late March to add the World Boxing Organization belt to his collection.
“We’ll see how badly he wants the fight,” DiBella said. “Anthony Joshua has said he’d accept this offer. If Eddie Hearn is not looking to stop it from happening, they now have an extraordinary offer to consider.
“In the immortal words of [referee] Mills Lane, ‘Let’s get it on!’”
Twitter: @latimespugmire
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