Anthony Joshua Responds to Claims the UFC Have Offered Him a $500 Million Contract…
An insane news story broke last night: the UFC has offered British boxing superstar, Anthony Joshua, a $500 million contract. The Londoner currently fights under Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom promotion and is arguably the most commercially lucrative fighter in the world today.
He is due to take on the New Zealand heavyweight champion Joseph Parker on 31 March in Wales, UK. Joshua will put his WBA, IBF, and IBO titles on the line to get a shot at claiming Parker’s WBO strap. Then, if all goes to plan, he will be facing a heavyweight unification fight against WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder later in 2018.
Joshua is hot property right now. It appears that the UFC wants a piece of the cake, and have tabled a massive and realistic offer for A.J. The British boxer has finally responded to all the speculation. He’s interested, but he definitely won’t be fighting in MMA.
Zuffa Boxing
When the stories broke that Joshua was being linked to the UFC in a mega-money contract, most people assumed this meant he’d be fighting in the octagon under MMA rules. This wouldn’t be the case. WME-IMG, who own the UFC, have been pushing their Zuffa Boxing, as side promotion specifically intended for the boxing world.
During the Conor McGregor vs Floyd Mayweather saga, the UFC President Dana White was often seen wearing t-shirts with the Zuffa Boxing logo on them. It seems like the organization is serious about making inroads into the boxing world. Capturing Anthony Joshua would be an incredible statement to other promotions across the world.
Joshua’s Reaction
Joshua has a 20-0 unbeaten professional boxing record. He’s just coming off the back of wins over Carlos Takam and Wladimir Klitschko. He was also a 2012 London Olympics gold medallist, turning professional after that tournament. The British fighter now has the chance to become the first unified heavyweight champion since Lennox Lewis.
For his part, Joshua is tentatively interested. He gave his reaction in an interview with ESPN. He suggested if the money is right, then, of course, anything is possible. This is the boxing world after all, and if one this is certain, it is that money definitely does the talking.
“We’ll listen, and 100 percent if it makes sense, we’re all in,” Joshua said. “So I’m happy that Dana’s coming into the game, hopefully, we can add some excitement and we can progress forward and make some more money and make some good fights.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/BgmHe4nj0Dh/?hl=en&taken-by=anthony_joshua
Exciting Times
One thing is certain: it’s a fantastic time to be a boxing fan. Gennady Golovkin is due to take on ‘Canelo’ Alvarez on May 5. That’s going to be a busy month, because Vasyl Lomachenko takes on Jorge Linares for the WBA lightweight title on May 12.
Although last week Joshua said he’d be interested in fighting Jon Jones or Francis Ngannou, he really isn’t interested in crossing over to MMA. Not when he’s on top of the boxing world. He has the chance to make history in the heavyweight division, and he’s not about to pass up that opportunity. Maybe the UFC can help him along the way.
