Fury vs AJ: What is fair?

[CaptainSpacerod]

Fury is more accomplished than AJ. He has his TV show.

So the numbers obviously favour Tyson, but it takes two to tango, which means that 55-45 or 50-50 is reasonable.

Anyone that feels that AJ is the A-side is a hideously obscene moron.

Is fury more accomplished? Do the numbers obviously favour fury?

If you’re only considering the entirety of both men’s careers, then AJ is clearly the commercial A-side. Joshua may even have a larger UK-based social media following than Fury.

However, since October 2018, Tyson Fury has had more world title fights, earned larger purses — funded by Saudi money and US pay-per-view revenue — possesses a better win-rate, and faced superior opposition than Anthony Joshua.

It ‘takes two to tango’, which means that the Joshua-Fury super-fight won’t happen if both men aren't handsomely paid, hence the reason why I previously argued that a 55-45 (favouring Tyson) or a 50-50 purse-split is reasonable.

Even so, I do not see a logical, fact-based, statistical argument for Joshua deserving a bigger purse than Fury (based on numbers since October 2018).

How do you know what their purses were ?

[Eolaithe]

Is fury more accomplished? Do the numbers obviously favour fury?

If you’re only considering the entirety of both men’s careers, then AJ is clearly the commercial A-side. Joshua may even have a larger UK-based social media following than Fury.

However, since October 2018, Tyson Fury has had more world title fights, earned larger purses — funded by Saudi money and US pay-per-view revenue — possesses a better win-rate, and faced superior opposition than Anthony Joshua.

It ‘takes two to tango’, which means that the Joshua-Fury super-fight won’t happen if both men aren't handsomely paid, hence the reason why I previously argued that a 55-45 (favouring Tyson) or a 50-50 purse-split is reasonable.

Even so, I do not see a logical, fact-based, statistical argument for Joshua deserving a bigger purse than Fury (based on numbers since October 2018).

How do you know what their purses were ?

Athletic-commission disclosed purses, Forbes annual athlete earnings estimates... Contemporary reporting from ESPN/Dan Rafael, BBC, The Athletic, BS and major UK newspapers on guarantees, PPV shares and Saudi purses... Reported Saudi site-fee/purse distributions... Sparta Promotions company accounts... and ChatGPT scrapes websites to gather this info.

[CaptainSpacerod]

Athletic-commission disclosed purses, Forbes annual athlete earnings estimates... Contemporary reporting from ESPN/Dan Rafael, BBC, The Athletic, BS and major UK newspapers on guarantees, PPV shares and Saudi purses... Reported Saudi site-fee/purse distributions... Sparta Promotions company accounts... and ChatGPT scrapes websites to gather this info.

[gregregegg]

Fury is more accomplished than AJ. He has his TV show.

So the numbers obviously favour Tyson, but it takes two to tango, which means that 55-45 or 50-50 is reasonable.

Anyone that feels that AJ is the A-side is a hideously obscene moron.

Is fury more accomplished? Do the numbers obviously favour fury?

If you’re only considering the entirety of both men’s careers, then AJ is clearly the commercial A-side. Joshua may even have a larger UK-based social media following than Fury.

However, since October 2018, Tyson Fury has had more world title fights, earned larger purses — funded by Saudi money and US pay-per-view revenue — possesses a better win-rate, and faced superior opposition than Anthony Joshua.

It ‘takes two to tango’, which means that the Joshua-Fury super-fight won’t happen if both men aren't handsomely paid, hence the reason why I previously argued that a 55-45 (favouring Tyson) or a 50-50 purse-split is reasonable.

Even so, I do not see a logical, fact-based, statistical argument for Joshua deserving a bigger purse than Fury (based on numbers since October 2018).

First of all "since October 2018" is an absolute cherry pick of the timeline that suits your naritive the most....

Secondly have furys purses since 2018 been bigger? I can't do the real research but google ai suggested since your cherrypicked date AJs tostal purses were actually bigger than furys

Thirdly... vs usyk (very significant parts of there purses) Aj was up against a non world champ for AJs 3 belts... and at that point usyk wasn't a huge star (should of been)... when fury vs'd him usyk was a trippl2 unified champ and a massive name.... so sure fury might of outearned aj vs usyk (suprisingly not by much) , but not because ge was a bigger draw because it was a different circumstance and usyk was now a draw in his own right. ..


Fact based statistics for aj to get more than Fury... (although I belive 50:50 is fair....)

2025 +2026 earnings
Fury apric 25 million
AJ approx 100 million

That's a pretty simple one...

But the simplest one is the social media following statistics i mentioned befor that are a proxy in nearly every industry for superstar marketability....

:

[Eolaithe]

Is fury more accomplished? Do the numbers obviously favour fury?

If you’re only considering the entirety of both men’s careers, then AJ is clearly the commercial A-side. Joshua may even have a larger UK-based social media following than Fury.

However, since October 2018, Tyson Fury has had more world title fights, earned larger purses — funded by Saudi money and US pay-per-view revenue — possesses a better win-rate, and faced superior opposition than Anthony Joshua.

It ‘takes two to tango’, which means that the Joshua-Fury super-fight won’t happen if both men aren't handsomely paid, hence the reason why I previously argued that a 55-45 (favouring Tyson) or a 50-50 purse-split is reasonable.

Even so, I do not see a logical, fact-based, statistical argument for Joshua deserving a bigger purse than Fury (based on numbers since October 2018).

First of all "since October 2018" is an absolute cherry pick of the timeline that suits your naritive the most....

Secondly have furys purses since 2018 been bigger? I can't do the real research but google ai suggested since your cherrypicked date AJs tostal purses were actually bigger than furys

Thirdly... vs usyk (very significant parts of there purses) Aj was up against a non world champ for AJs 3 belts... and at that point usyk wasn't a huge star (should of been)... when fury vs'd him usyk was a trippl2 unified champ and a massive name.... so sure fury might of outearned aj vs usyk (suprisingly not by much) , but not because ge was a bigger draw because it was a different circumstance and usyk was now a draw in his own right. ..


Fact based statistics for aj to get more than Fury... (although I belive 50:50 is fair....)

2025 +2026 earnings
Fury apric 25 million
AJ approx 100 million

That's a pretty simple one...

But the simplest one is the social media following statistics i mentioned befor that are a proxy in nearly every industry for superstar marketability....

:

October 2018 not only marks the start of Fury’s pugilistic and commercial peak, but it is also the beginning of Joshua’s sporting decline.

By the time AJ-Fury fights, more than eight years would have transpired since this period. It’s not a cherry-pick.

Whereas you’re comparing a very short timeframe when Fury was briefly retired.

Facts.

[gregregegg]

If you’re only considering the entirety of both men’s careers, then AJ is clearly the commercial A-side. Joshua may even have a larger UK-based social media following than Fury.

However, since October 2018, Tyson Fury has had more world title fights, earned larger purses — funded by Saudi money and US pay-per-view revenue — possesses a better win-rate, and faced superior opposition than Anthony Joshua.

It ‘takes two to tango’, which means that the Joshua-Fury super-fight won’t happen if both men aren't handsomely paid, hence the reason why I previously argued that a 55-45 (favouring Tyson) or a 50-50 purse-split is reasonable.

Even so, I do not see a logical, fact-based, statistical argument for Joshua deserving a bigger purse than Fury (based on numbers since October 2018).

First of all "since October 2018" is an absolute cherry pick of the timeline that suits your naritive the most....

Secondly have furys purses since 2018 been bigger? I can't do the real research but google ai suggested since your cherrypicked date AJs tostal purses were actually bigger than furys

Thirdly... vs usyk (very significant parts of there purses) Aj was up against a non world champ for AJs 3 belts... and at that point usyk wasn't a huge star (should of been)... when fury vs'd him usyk was a trippl2 unified champ and a massive name.... so sure fury might of outearned aj vs usyk (suprisingly not by much) , but not because ge was a bigger draw because it was a different circumstance and usyk was now a draw in his own right. ..


Fact based statistics for aj to get more than Fury... (although I belive 50:50 is fair....)

2025 +2026 earnings
Fury apric 25 million
AJ approx 100 million

That's a pretty simple one...

But the simplest one is the social media following statistics i mentioned befor that are a proxy in nearly every industry for superstar marketability....

:

October 2018 not only marks the start of Fury’s pugilistic and commercial peak, but it is also the beginning of Joshua’s sporting decline.

By the time AJ-Fury fights, more than eight years would have transpired since this period. It’s not a cherry-pick.

Whereas you’re comparing a very short timeframe when Fury was briefly retired.

Facts.

But in that 8 years was fury a bigger commercial draw than AJ? Don’t think so, even in his commercial successes other people were bringing belts to the table…

The “very short time” I mentioned was the most recent 20 months… in that time they have both fought twice.

Sure fury “retired” for like the 5th time, AJ did have a horrific car crash in that time… so I’d hardly unfair on that front. Both had the same number of fights.

You mentioned that 2018 was picked because it indicated the rise of fury… well for me 2025 was picked because it’s the start of the new era for aj fury, which is. “Fringe contender era”…

[Eolaithe]

First of all "since October 2018" is an absolute cherry pick of the timeline that suits your naritive the most....

Secondly have furys purses since 2018 been bigger? I can't do the real research but google ai suggested since your cherrypicked date AJs tostal purses were actually bigger than furys

Thirdly... vs usyk (very significant parts of there purses) Aj was up against a non world champ for AJs 3 belts... and at that point usyk wasn't a huge star (should of been)... when fury vs'd him usyk was a trippl2 unified champ and a massive name.... so sure fury might of outearned aj vs usyk (suprisingly not by much) , but not because ge was a bigger draw because it was a different circumstance and usyk was now a draw in his own right. ..


Fact based statistics for aj to get more than Fury... (although I belive 50:50 is fair....)

2025 +2026 earnings
Fury apric 25 million
AJ approx 100 million

That's a pretty simple one...

But the simplest one is the social media following statistics i mentioned befor that are a proxy in nearly every industry for superstar marketability....

:

October 2018 not only marks the start of Fury’s pugilistic and commercial peak, but it is also the beginning of Joshua’s sporting decline.

By the time AJ-Fury fights, more than eight years would have transpired since this period. It’s not a cherry-pick.

Whereas you’re comparing a very short timeframe when Fury was briefly retired.

Facts.

The “very short time” I mentioned was the most recent 20 months… in that time they have both fought twice.

Tyson Fury only had one real bout between 2025 and 2026, which was against Arslanbek Makhmudov.

The Wach fight wasn’t broadcast, it was a sparring session orchestrated to provide content for his Netflix show, whereby all proceeds from the event were donated to charity, with Tyson donating his entire purse to the Father Ray Foundation in Thailand.

Tyson Fury retired during January 2025 and made his comeback during April 2026.

In stark contrast, AJ’s bout against Prenga was a £19.99 DAZN PPV.

And Joshua's only 2025 fight was against one of the biggest commercial names in the sport of boxing, Jake Paul, with the American having engaged in eight PPVs, approaching 4m PPV buys, over 140m+ Netflix views, largest live gate $18m+ for a specific event, career earnings exceeding $150m, US attendances exceeding 70K etc.

The evidence strongly suggests that Jake Paul was the primary commercial driver of Paul–Joshua in the US: the fight was staged in America and the ring walk scheduled to maximise the US audience, while Joshua, despite his international profile, has never established himself as a mainstream crossover star or major drawing attraction in the American market.

[stujones]

I think 50:50 is fair - one wouldn't be getting the purse of this size without the other. Not even close.

I think the fact it is in the states is also testament to what Netflix / Turki assume is the financial clout of them two together and fighting each other. When is the last time Fury fought in the states? Joshua's only US fights have been against US opponents. I would say NEITHER have gurenteed pulling power in the states - without a dance partner who can also sell tickets / attract buys.

I couldn't see either fighting away from UK or Saudi if it was any other non American opponent (or at least some fighter with true stateside appeal - like a Canelo) - not even Usyk.

I don't think either are like DLH who could sell millions of PPV's fighting anyone really in the states. In the UK it is different. So when DLH fought Mayweather, DLH should have got the far bigger purse and Mayweather needed DLH to become a PPV attraction.

[mickey1975]

To be fair Tyson fought there five times consecutively, including once against a non American, before he got banned as a known Kinihan associate. He was even meant to be buying a property there.

[tiny_acres]

What would be fair?
Being fair this fight should of happened 6 or 8 years ago.
That would have been fair to the fans. This fight is way past its sell by date.
The only thing that is not fair is that we were robbed of a very important fight until
both fighters were well past their prime.

[JamesPhilips]

What would be fair?
Being fair this fight should of happened 6 or 8 years ago.
That would have been fair to the fans. This fight is way past its sell by date.
The only thing that is not fair is that we were robbed of a very important fight until
both fighters were well past their prime.

I’ve always thought the fight won’t happen for some reason

[stujones]

To be fair Tyson fought there five times consecutively, including once against a non American, before he got banned as a known Kinihan associate. He was even meant to be buying a property there.

He did, but that's quite a while back now and that was in an odd time in boxing when Bob was still "king" and probably paid a bit "over the odds" (sorry) for Fury and was looking at trying to get bang for his buck. There didn't seem to be much buzz around the Wallin and Schwartz bouts and from "never fighting in the UK again" "its all about the US baby" Fury then fought exclusively in the UK or Saudi. Can't image the Wallin and Schwartz bouts made Arum money.