Anthony Joshua’s blockbuster showdown with YouTube star-turned-boxer Jake Paul has emerged as the richest boxing fight of 2025, generating a combined purse of $267 million.
According to PUNCH Sports Extra, the December bout held at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami saw the British heavyweight knock out Paul in the sixth round, attracting massive global attention and commercial success.
A breakdown by betting firm Betsson ranked the Joshua–Paul fight as the second biggest boxing event of 2025, based on search volume, attendance, purse size and overall impact. The bout recorded two million online searches and an attendance of 19,600, earning a final score of 90 points.
The only fight that ranked higher was the Terence Crawford vs Canelo Alvarez clash in September, which topped the chart with 94 points. Although it had a lower purse of $200 million, the fight benefited from 1.5 million searches and a crowd of 70,400.
Oleksandr Usyk’s rematch with Daniel Dubois finished third with 76 points, generating 135,000 searches, the highest attendance of 90,000, and a purse of $200 million.
Chris Eubank Jr’s long-awaited bout against Conor Benn placed fourth, while Katie Taylor’s trilogy fight with Amanda Serrano and Manny Pacquiao’s contest against Mario Barrios completed the top six.
Betsson noted that its rankings were based on data from Google Keyword Planner, the World Boxing Association website and major sports publications, adding that some figures were estimates where official numbers were unavailable.
Joshua’s win over Paul marked his return to winning ways after his September 2024 defeat to Dubois at Wembley Stadium. However, celebrations were short-lived as the former two-time world heavyweight champion was involved in a fatal car crash in Nigeria on December 29, just 10 days after the fight.
The accident claimed the lives of his close friends, Sina Ghami and Latif Ayodele, while Joshua sustained minor injuries and later returned to the United Kingdom.
Following the tragedy, Joshua’s uncle, Adedamola Joshua, disclosed that the 36-year-old boxer has decided to retire from professional boxing.
