Joshua to Pul in the big bucks
BEN CURRIE feared his World Cup dreams were in tatters the day he suffered a reaction to the knee injury that sidelined him for almost a year. Currie (right) went down in pain just two matches into his comeback for Warrington in July – and faced an agonising wait to discover the extent of the trouble. But the news was positive and the 23-year-old is one of two uncapped players in Wayne Bennett’s 24-man squad, having updated the veteran Australian coach all year on his progress. Currie said: “I panicked myself, I wrote it off. In a way I didn’t want to give myself hope. The consultant was away on holiday as well and I had to wait a while.
“My knee was all swollen again, just like it was the original time, so I was worried.
“But the consultant told me the knee was still strong and stable.
“He was happy for me to have a couple of weeks rehab and come back again.
“I didn’t play as many games as I wanted to but I finished the year strong with two 80-minute performances, and I feel fresh and strong.” ANTHONY JOSHUA is set to pocket £15million from his clash with Kubrat Pulev to become one of Britain’s best-paid sports stars.
The contest at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium later this month is close to being a 78,000 sell-out and Joshua is expected to match his £15m payday from his win over Wladimir Klitschko at Wembley.
Joshua’s £30m earnings from the ring in 2017 would eclipse Gareth Bale’s new £20m-a-year deal at Real Madrid and push Lewis Hamilton, who earned £35m last year, as Britain’s best-paid sports star.
Joshua’s defence of his WBA Super and IBF heavyweight titles is expected to generate £30m gross before tax and deductions.
The Watford Walloper, who has stopped all 19 of his opponents, will receive 75 per cent of the purse split.
Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn said: “We have done more than 77,000 tickets.
“We could have done another 30,000 if we had the hotels.
“They are just incredible numbers.”