According to the UK’s Telegraph, the UFC is courting boxer Anthony Joshua to a $500 million deal. Presumably, Joshua would compete for Zuffa Boxing, a creation of Dana White’s that came to light late last year.
Dana White will attend Joshua’s fight next week against Joseph Parker. Joshua is one of the top Heavyweight’s in boxing and an eventual showdown with Deontay Wilder could be a huge PPV if it were to come together.
Currently, Joshua’s promoter is Eddie Hearn. His camp has indicated they would listen to White if it makes sense. $500 million would make Joshua the highest-paid combat sports athlete under the Zuffa umbrella.
There were rumors that Joshua would crossover into MMA but on a recent conference call promoting Saturday’s fight, he reaffirmed that he is strictly a boxer.
Payout Perspective:
If the rumors are true, Joshua would be a great way to launch Zuffa Boxing. However, its not clear how Zuffa Boxing will be run. While there is speculation that it would be more of a league, this might mean it would foreclose the possibility of inter-promotional matchups like one with Wilder. It’s not clear whether $500 million is a real number but Joshua is one of boxing’s top stars in the UK. It would make sense that if Zuffa signed Joshua, he would be the marquee name for the company.
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