Eddie Hearn reveals extent of Anthony Joshua's pay cut for fighting Tyson Fury in UK

Anthony Joshua lost out on at least £10 million ($13m) to bring his December 11 fight with Tyson Fury to Britain, promoter Eddie Hearn has revealed.

It had been reported that the fight was set for New York’s Madison Square Garden, on November 20, though Joshua – as per his contract with Sela – stipulated he wanted the fight in the UK. It will now take place at Cardiff, Wales’ Principality Stadium.

Eventually, Joshua’s preference won out, though accepting Cardiff meant sacrificing a substantial portion of his purse.

“People started saying ‘please bring the fight to the UK’ and AJ started feeling that,” Hearn said.

“To keep it in the UK he's got to turn down eight figures plus. AJ goes to me ‘whatever you think’ and I'm like ‘no, no, no, it's your money. I can't make that decision for you.’

“He asks what [do you] think I should do and I told him I think the UK is where the fight should be because there's an edge for him to have this fight in the UK, but it's a lot of money. And he went ‘fuck it, we'll do it in the UK.’”

Alalshikh claimed at Wednesday’s press conference that switching the event from New York to Cardiff equated to losses of £53 million ($70m).

Despite the sacrifices, the bout is still expected to cater to the American market by starting after midnight.

Alalshikh had hoped to stage the event at Wembley Stadium, with Dua Lipa performing as part of the show, but plans were complicated by the venue’s 11pm curfew. The Principality Stadium, which has a capacity of around 80,000 and can be covered by its retractable roof, subsequently emerged as the solution.