Anthony Joshua's opponent was paid just £5000 to fight former heavyweight champion
Dorian Darch was the fourth man to fight Anthony Joshua in the professional ranks, the Welshman taking on the future unified heavyweight champion in Cardiff back in 2014
Dorian Darch, a former opponent of Anthony Joshua, has disclosed that he earned a mere £5,000 for his bout with the heavyweight powerhouse. The Aberdare-born 40 year old faced off against AJ in February 2014 at Cardiff's Motorpoint Arena, long before Joshua had established his legacy in the boxing ring.
This was Joshua's fourth professional fight, entering the event on the back of a three-fight winning streak following TKOs over Emanuele Leo, Paul Butlin and Hrvoje Kisicek.
At the time, Darch was considerably more experienced in the ring, boasting a respectable record of 7-2 and prepared to go six rounds with his younger adversary. However, the match didn't quite pan out as the Welshman had hoped, with Joshua dominating the first round and shaking Darch with a solid right just before the bell rang.
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A right hand early in the second round, coupled with a few glancing left hooks, left Darch unsteady before referee Terry O'Connor called off the fight - marking AJ's fourth consecutive TKO victory.
While AJ has since earned colossal sums from his heavyweight boxing matches, most notably a reported £53million for his 2022 rematch with Oleksandr Usyk, Darch revealed that his earnings were minuscule in comparison to his bout with AJ a decade ago.
Darch candidly disclosed: "I'm trying to think who I was with at the time, I think I was with Sammy Simms, he was my manager at the time. He offered me the fight and, as you know, I'd lost to Ian Lewison, so I knew my career wasn't going anywhere.
"So Sammy Simms phoned me up and said, 'been offered the AJ fight if you want it? ' I said, 'how much? ', and he said 'five grand', so that's all I had for it was five grand because it was a long time ago, was it 2014/2015 or something like that? So, I just took the fight, the five grand paid for a nice holiday and the rest is history."
Looking back on his bout, Darch reflected: "The first round, I done alright, I thought. If you watch the fight back, I was making him miss. When he catches you once you stay caught, if you know what I mean. He caught me with a right hand towards the end of the first round, in the final seconds, then I was like a pinball in the corner 'til the bell rung."
"So, I made it into the second then took a big left hook and it just took me out, my legs had gone, my hands had dropped, and thankfully the ref jumped in then before he had a chance to drop me or hit me again. I'm just honest; my legs were gone."
Darch, who hasn't stepped into the ring since 2020 and holds a record of 12-12-1, has seen Joshua rise to prominence in the boxing world. Joshua, who has been incredibly active, secured the WBC heavyweight title just eight months after his bout with Darch by defeating Denis Bakhtov.
He then went on to win the Commonwealth and British heavyweight titles the following year.
In 2016, he added the IBF heavyweight title to his collection with a second-round knockout of Charles Martin at London's O2. The following year, he claimed the WBA (Super) and IBO belts by defeating Wladimir Klitschko.
In 2018, he added the WBO title to his growing list of achievements with a victory over Joseph Parker, before losing all his titles to Andy Ruiz Jr the next year.
At present, AJ boasts an impressive record of 28-3, with his only other two losses coming from Usyk, the most recent boxer to achieve undisputed greatness in the heavyweight division thanks to his split-decision win over Tyson Fury in May.
Now aged 34 and aiming for another shot at heavyweight glory, Joshua is set to face Daniel Dubois at Wembley Stadium on September 21 for the IBF heavyweight championship. Dubois, with a record of 21-2, won the vacant title in June following an eighth-round TKO over Filip Hrgovic and will be hoping to retain his title when the fight concludes.
