23 December 2023 , 10:00
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Anthony Joshua will earn at least £10million for fighting Otto Wallin tonight as he looks to set up a mega-fight with Deontay Wilder.
Joshua makes his boxing return against former Tyson Fury opponent Wallin at the 'Day of Reckoning' event in Saudi Arabia, which also features Wilder vs Joseph Parker in chief support. Terms have already been agreed for Joshua to fight Wilder on March 9 but both men will first need to win their respective fights.
Having already earned around £10m for his wins against Jermaine Franklin and Robert Helenius earlier this year, 'AJ' will take home around the same for his fight against Wallin. Joshua took a big pay cut for his fight against Helenius as he was originally supposed to rematch Dillian Whyte, but his old rival was pulled out after failing a drugs test.
Who wins tonight - Anthony Joshua or Otto Wallin? Let us know in the comments section below
Joshua admitted that he didn't think he would be fighting for the third time this year as he said: "Not the third one, because what do we know. It's six weeks out, but if I didn't fight I still would have fought in January. I get busy in this division for sure. Wallin is a good opponent but I can't compare him to anyone else that I haven't fought.
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"The lessons I have taken from previous fights against southpaws I can take into this fight. The map to Wilder isn't a long roadmap, we can't see it now because of the magnitude of that fight. A fight with myself and another top-tier heavyweight, we ain't worried about the card. People don't even want to watch the card, they just want to watch the main event."
'AJ' has earned some huge paydays throughout his illustrious boxing career, including £15million when he lost his world titles to Oleksandr Usyk two years ago and £33million when he failed to win them back in their rematch last August. It's unclear how much Joshua will make for fighting Wilder, but the American did leak that he will earn almost £40million if their mega-fight happens.
Joshua is working with Fury's ex-coach Ben Davison for tonight's fight as it marks his fourth trainer in just over two years. The former two-time heavyweight champion split with Robert McCracken after his first loss to Usyk and his stint with Robert Garcia lasted just one fight after that. Derrick James trained him for his fights with Franklin and Helenius as Davison looks to guide him to three wins out of three this year.