The proving ground awaits Anthony Joshua.
‘AJ’ is ready to cross the threshold from a prospect in the process of being built into a bonafide boxing superstar.
Standing opposite Joshua this weekend will be an all-time heavyweight great in Wladimir Klitschko, who will either provide a springboard into prominence or offer a stern brick wall for the London 2012 gold medallist.
Due to Joshua’s status as arguably the most marketable British fighter of all time, coupled with the dominance once enjoyed by Klitschko in the heavyweight division, Saturday night’s bout is set to be an unmissable event which will smash British pay-per-view records.
The combined pay-per-view and ticket revenue is expected to reach a staggering £50 million while both fighters are set to share a 50/50 split of a £20 million fight purse, according to the Telegraph.
What that means, once pay-per-view cuts are accounted for, is that Joshua and Klitschko could walk away with a total payday of £15 million each.
Klitschko pocketed a similar purse in his 2015 defeat to Tyson Fury while, for Joshua, Saturday night will represent his most lucrative outing to date as he earned between £2 million and £3 million for his last bout, a successful defence of his IBF heavyweight crown.
Wembley is as good as sold out for this weekend’s card which means that gate revenue could amount to a total of £8 million while the projected pay-per-view buyrate of 1.5 million in the UK and Ireland adds up to an expected £30 million.
TV station RTL owns broadcast rights for the fight in Germany and that deal will add roughly £4 million to the overall revenue. In the United States, HBO and Showtime also have a deal worth £2 million which will see the fight shown across the pond.
“Of course there is a lot of money at stake,” promoter Eddie Hearn said.
“With all these things, you can do the maths.
“I don’t like breaking it down to figures — but you know the pay-per-view price and you know the capacity of Wembley.
“Anthony and Wladimir know the levels of income that could be achieved — but I don’t think it’s in their minds.”
