His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs will take approximately 47% of Tyson Fury’s reported £60 million purse for his unified heavyweight title fight against Oleksandr Usyk.
That’s according to data analysts at JeffBet, who estimate this is the most lucrative heavyweight title fight in the history of combat sports.
The ‘Gypsy King’ was bested by Usyk in a money-spinning first fight back in May, which saw the Ukrainian rally from a furious Fury start, to leave the larger man staggered in Saudi Arabia.
Usyk, who left the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh with all four of the major heavyweight belts, returns to the rematch as the undisputed ‘A-side’ at the negotiating table having won the first fight – with the split skewed in his favour this time.
Reports suggest that the split was 70/30 in favour of Fury for the first fight, with the Brit banking approximately £80 million. However, the pendulum now swings 60/40 in favour of the winner of the first fight – meaning Usyk will take home the larger share.
The total purse stands at a staggering £150 million, with Fury now taking home £60 million. However, this is set to be whittled down drastically by HMRC, with almost HALF going back to the taxman.
In total, HMRC will take £28,188,213.60 from Fury’s purse – £26,986,203 as Income Tax and then a further £1,202,010.60 in National Insurance. So what’s the difference between the two?
Simply put, Income Tax is a deduction that goes towards paying for all the services we use in our society, while National Insurance contributions are made to pay for certain state benefits, including State Pension and NHS Services.
A spokesperson for JeffBet said: “If you are a resident in the UK you have to pay tax on overseas earnings in the same way, and that remains the same no matter how much someone might earn.
“Good tax advice is always important and in this case you can be sure the Fury camp will have looked at an agreement that would be the most beneficial.”
