Ella Scott
Jake Paul could lose up to $34 million after his sixth-round knockout failure against British boxer Anthony Joshua. It’s the latest blow to the star, who is currently recovering from injuries sustained in the bout.
Last Friday (December 19), 28-year-old Paul added a second loss to his record (14-2, 7 KO) after falling in defeat to Joshua, 36, (29-4, 26 KO) at Miami’s Kaseya Center.
The pair fought six three-minute rounds, with Paul being floored by his heavyweight opponent four times before eventually being knocked out.
After topping the Most Valuable Promotions card on Netflix, Paul checked in to hospital, where he later confirmed he’d had two titanium plates inserted into each side of his jaw.
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“Some teeth removed. Have to have only liquids for 7 days so no @doghausdogs,” he added via Instagram.
In a fresh update, it’s been revealed that the star could lose up to $34 million of his fight earnings.
In November, the Daily Mail suggested the Netflix purse was worth around $184m.
Paul later took to X to write: “Stop asking me. $267 Million,” seemingly referring to how much the boxers were fighting over.
Sports and entertainment accountant Oriana Morrison later told The Independent: “Even if the lower figure – the rumoured $184m purse – is true, AJ could bring home $92m.
“We haven’t seen a boxing match with a purse at this level since Mayweather vs Pacquiao in 2015 or even Mayweather vs McGregor in 2017. It’s higher than any Saudi purse to date.”
Further reports suggested that The Problem Child and his fellow sportsman would split the nine-figure purse down the middle.
However, it appears that the former is going to have to fork out up to $34 million in taxes.
As a US citizen and resident of Puerto Rico, Paul has to deal with US federal taxes, as per The Mirror.
He will pay the top federal tax of 37 percent, meaning his tax bill will come out at a jaw-dropping $34m, if the purse was split directly down the middle.
Despite winning the bout, it appears that Joshua has drawn the short straw.
AJ, who lives in the UK, will have to pay the equivalent of $43.8m.
A portion of this will be handed over to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in the United States.
The boxer will then need to pay National Insurance Tax and bridge the gap between his complete UK tax obligation and what has already been deducted in US tax.
Following the KO, Paul has said he plans to ‘take a break’ and begin chasing the cruiserweight world championship.
“I've been going hard for six years, so I'm going to take some time off,” he confirmed.