Anthony Joshua lost £3million worth of sponsorship after suffering defeat to Oleksandr Usyk for the first time.
Joshua, 32, lost his heavyweight titles to former undisputed cruiserweight champion Usyk when the pair fought in London last September. 'AJ' was on a mission to win back his belts as the rivals met for a second time in Jeddah two months ago, but came up short yet again as he suffered his second defeat on the bounce.
New financial records for Joshua's company 258 Management have shown a 35 per cent reduction in turnover from February last year through to February 2022. In the financial year leading up to February 2021, 'AJ' made almost £8.5million through endorsement deals with the likes of Under Armour, Hugo Boss and Beats.
That figure dropped to almost £5.5m in the next financial year, meaning the former two-time heavyweight champion saw around a 35 per cent loss in endorsements. Breaking down the numbers, Joshua's biggest loss in revenue came from the Non-EU area as this reduced by £3.6m in the financial year leading up to last February to £1.6m to this past February.
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Joshua's stock hasn't depreciated as much in the UK, as his marketing and sponsorship revenues went down from £3.5m to £2.9m in the region. 258 Management recognised the damage Usyk's first win over Joshua did for the Brit's image, as they said the loss of revenue in sponsorships and endorsements have come from third parties "placing less value" on Joshua's image rights.
"The sponsorships and endorsements division has decreased by 35 per cent from 2021 to 2022. This is as a result of third parties placing less value on the use of the fighter's image rights," a statement in the accounts reads. "The company faces a number of risks and uncertainties and the director believes the key business risks are in respect of competition from both within the UK and international markets.
"In view of this risk and uncertainty, the director is aware that the development of the company may be affected by factors outside its control. The directors anticipate the business environment will remain competitive. The directors believe that the company is in a good financial position and that the risks that have been identified are being well managed."
Joshua has been in talks over a heavyweight title fight against WBC titleholder Tyson Fury in recent weeks but the domestic clash is now seemingly off after both parties have been unable to come to an agreement. Joshua's promoter Eddie Hearn blamed the unrealistic deadline Fury put on the fight being finalised as the reason for talks collapsing.
