Andy Ruiz Jr goes into Saturday’s contest holding all the belts but it is Anthony Joshua who is getting the biggest slice of the cake.
Some estimates reckon the Watford fighter will trouser in excess of £70million.
But Joshua said: “When you look at it, it’s like, you earn £100, you pay a lot to the tax man, a lot to the trainer, and before you know it you’re left with, in reality, 30 or 40 per cent.
“So it’s not what it really seems.
“You have to manage yourself and not get flustered about what you think is yours, because 50 or 60 or 70 per cent of it isn’t.
“When I came into boxing, unfortunately you hear all the stories of Larry Holmes having to get a bus home after a title fight, Mike Tyson losing a lot of his money, Evander Holyfield…And these are, like, the greatest.
“Honestly, one of my main objectives in this sport was to not be owned, not be taken advantage of.
“When I met Eddie Hearn I said, ‘You’re not like Don King, are you?’”
“It’s difficult. You put so much into it.
“And that’s what I mean about the belts — as much as they’re important to you today, when your career is over, someone else comes up and takes the thing and you have to move on.
“I heard this story that you start off and you get to a certain position, people open doors for you and get you coffees.
“Certain people get used to that lifestyle, but that lifestyle isn’t meant for you, it’s just meant for the position you’re in.
“As you gradually move on from that position, the next person will move up.
“So you can’t get too used to the belts being around your waist because you’re naturally going to progress.
“That’s why the decisions I’ve made have been as a professional man, not a professional boxer.
“When I decided to become a man, I just knew in boxing I was going to conduct myself like a business.”
