Purses revealed for Andy Ruiz vs. Anthony Joshua rematch

The purses for the massively anticipated rematch between heavyweight boxing stars Andy Ruiz Jr. and Anthony Joshua have been revealed, and as expected, they’re significant.

According to the Daily Mail, Joshua will earn a whopping £66m payday for this fight. That’s a hefty $85.7M USD. Ruiz, meanwhile, will earn $10M — a far cry from the money he wanted, but still a big payout.

These amounts are bound to draw the ire of some fight fans, as Joshua, the former champion, is earning exponentially more than the current champion Ruiz, who finished him in their first fight. But that’s the nature of the business.

As Middle Easy points out, these two purses combined equate to the fourth-largest payout in boxing history. The three largest purses all involved Floyd Mayweather Jr., which should surprise nobody. Those record-breaking payouts were for Mayweather’s fights with Canelo Alvarez, Manny Pacquiao, and UFC star Conor McGregor.

Anthony Joshua and Andy Ruiz first met on June 1, inside New York City’s world famous Madison Square Garden. The bout marked Joshua’s first bout on US soil, and in a truly historic upset, his first pro loss, as he collapsed amid a storm of seventh-round punches.

The pair’s rematch goes down this Saturday, December 7 inside the Diriyah Arena in Saudi Arabia.

Despite losing the first fight, Joshua will step through the ropes as the betting favorite in the rematch. Win or lose, he’ll also leave Saudi Arabia as the far wealthier party.

This article first appeared on BJPENN.com on 12/3/2019.