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Anthony Joshua, is set to invest a whooping £150m in English Championship side Watford.
Joshua reps in £150m investment talks with Watford
Johnny Edward
British-Nigerian boxer, Anthony Joshua, is set to invest a whooping £150m in English Championship side Watford after his spokesperson confirmed that an investment group working with the boxer has been in talks about putting money into the club.
It is understood that the British heavyweight, whose company, Sparta Promotions, banked an enormous £41.3m after the 34-year-old went undefeated in 2023.
A spokesperson for Joshua told The Athletic, “An investment business which has brought Anthony investment opportunities in the past was approached and held an entry-level discussion about an opportunity with Watford Football Club.
“This was an initial chat without even a discussion over due diligence which so often kills these kinds of deal.”
While initial talks took place regarding the potential investment, Joshua will not be involved in any capacity to focus on his boxing career.
The spokesperson added, “Anthony is not involved and has no plans to be involved.
"He is fully focused on boxing and has no time at the moment to give to new opportunities outside of his sport. He is a son of Watford and wishes them all the best.”
They will be aiming to improve, with or without Joshua’s investment next term. The 34-year-old will still be offering his support though, having revealed he is a fan of the club.
According to The Sunday Times Rich List, Joshua has a net worth of approximately £150m to £200m, having previously worked as a brand ambassador with the likes of Lucozade, Under Armour, Hugo Boss, Land Rover, and Jaguar.
He has fought once in 2024, claiming a sensational second-round knockout victory against Francis Ngannou in March, banking approximately £39m before any pay-per-view sales.
Joshua, a former world heavyweight champion boxer, is a boyhood fan of the Hornets and has regularly expressed his support of the Championship side.
Watford is currently owned by Italian Gino Pozzo. He has been a majority shareholder since buying out Laurence Bassini in 2012.
The club finished 15th in the Championship this season under Tom Cleverley who has since been confirmed as the club’s manager on a permanent basis.
Meanwhile, Joshua is set to fill Wembley Stadium once more this September, and his opponent could well be decided on Saturday in Saudi Arabia.
The two-time heavyweight champion has been on the up since two losses to Oleksandr Usyk put him out of the title picture, with four wins in a row and glimpses of the destructive style he was known for when first on the scene.
Whilst an all-British grudge match with Tyson Fury will always be high priority, Joshua is focused on becoming world champion once again, and his route to doing so could become clear of obstacles in the coming weeks.
Despite Usyk’s win over Fury to become undisputed still fresh, the IBF is expected to force him to vacate its belt given a contracted rematch clause stops him from fulfilling his mandatory fight against Filip Hrgovic.
The Croatian fights against Daniel Dubois on Saturday, and promoter Eddie Hearn told Seconds Out he is targeting the winner against Joshua for the IBF belt.
"AJ (Joshua) will fight absolutely anyone. I’ve never known him to go, ‘oh I’d prefer to fight him.’ He basically said ‘tell me who the opponent is and let’s go.’ He’ll fight Hrgovic, he’ll fight Dubois, he’ll fight Wilder, he’ll fight Fury, he’ll fight Usyk, he’ll fight Parker. He doesn’t mind.
"Obviously the preference is to try and become world champion again. It’s very likely that the winner of Hrgovic against Dubois could fight AJ for the world heavyweight championship at Wembley. That would be very attractive.
"If Wilder wins in style on Saturday night, that’s going to be a fight that resurfaces as well. In this new boxing age, expect the unexpected, but Saturday will tell us a lot about AJ’s next opponent. And he’ll be here."
