Joshua ‘to be first billionaire boxer’

ANTHONY Joshua is on course to become boxing’s first billionaire after his win against Joseph Parker on Saturday, experts believe.

The heavyweight is lining up a fight with American champ Deontay Wilder after claiming New Zealander Parker’s WBO title in Cardiff.

Joshua, 28, already held the IBO, WBA and IBF belts. A bout with Wilder, pictured below, who holds the remaining WBC title, will make the winner the world’s undisputed heavyweight champ – the first since Lennox Lewis in 2000 and the first fighter to ever hold all five belts.

Joshua, already worth £43million, said last April he wanted to be the sport’s first billionaire.

And marketing expert Marcel Knobil said: “While the billionaire remark may have appeared fanciful at the time, it’s now in the realms of possibility. “There’s such a positive narrative about Joshua that when you think of what he can offer brands, it is so mighty. His story is the sporting fairytale, from a tough upbringing to conquering the world.”

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