Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury are reported to be sharing a purse of close to $200m (£151m) for their December 11 fight at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, though none of the figures has been confirmed.
According to the BBC, the two British heavyweights will split the money roughly equally, with about $100m (£75m) each. Earlier reports had put the figure at £100m each.
The Times reported that Fury held out for a bigger share and that the 50-50 split took time to agree. Each man’s previous career high was reported to be around £65m ($85m).
Joshua’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, said the former champion accepted a pay cut of more than £10m ($13m) to keep the fight in the United Kingdom.
Saudi Arabia’s Turki Alalshikh, UFC chief Dana White and Netflix had pushed for Madison Square Garden in New York.
“To keep it in the UK, he (Joshua) has got to turn down eight figures plus,” Hearn said.
The fight went to Cardiff because of the stadium’s retractable roof.
Promoter Frank Warren said the money was the reason the fight finally went ahead.
“It is huge, huge purses. Massive money. The highest of their careers, I should think the highest of any British fighter’s career, ever,” he told SunSport.
About 80,000 tickets sold out in about an hour on October 9, with more than 500,000 people in the Ticketmaster queue. Face-value prices ran from £88.50 to £13,128, including fees.
White said the gate was scaled at about $34m, which he called a British record. Netflix members will not pay extra to watch.
For comparison, the second Fury and Oleksandr Usyk fight in 2024 was reported to be worth about $190m in total, with the split not disclosed. Neither promoter has released purses, and the Netflix fee, sponsorship and undercard money have not been reported.
The ring walks are expected around 1am on December 12.