CAN JOSHUA BE A $1BILLION BOXER?

ANTHONY JOSHUA’S 22nd professional fight — against Alexander Povetkin of Russia at Wembley Stadium next Saturday — will not be a sellout but he may yet become the highest earning boxer of all time.

Promoter Eddie Hearn says more than 80,000 fans will still turn up.

And the assertion last year by Hearn’s father Barry that Joshua ‘could easily be the first billionaire in boxing’ is taken seriously by Joshua’s team.

His business manager Freddie Cunningham told the MoS: ‘Anthony has always been ambitious.’

Hearn Snr said: ‘If he keeps winning, the money will keep coming. His commercial potential outside the ring is huge, way beyond David Beckham and the world’s top footballers. He has a much bigger cross-over in terms of potential.’ Floyd Mayweather holds boxing’s income record to date, with last year’s fight against Conor McGregor nudging his career earnings past $1billion (£763m).

An MoS analysis suggests Joshua has a chance of beating that.

The three biggest revenue streams for any fighter will be broadcast income, not least from pay-per-view sales, ticket sales and sponsorship and endorsement deals.

Working on the basis that Joshua is 29 next month and insiders expect him — if fit — to have two fights a year between now and 2024, it is plausible Joshua may indeed become the first £1bn boxer.

Our projections are based on PPV income of around £600m over the next six years, ticket sales of £300m and a sum that could rise well above £100m in sponsorships.

‘It all depends on length of career, injuries and opponent which, as we know, is a significant driving factor in the PPV market,’ Cunningham says.

It will also be dependent on whether Joshua can crack America and become a bona fide — and marketable — global star akin to Roger Federer, Tiger Woods, Cristiano Ronaldo and LeBron James, each of whom earned between £35m and £50m from sponsors in the past year.