Daniel Dubois set for immediate £600k blow after 'fight of the year' against Fabio Wardley
Daniel Dubois clinched the WBO title with a stunning win over Fabio Wardley, but is set to lose a major portion of his prize purse in the aftermath.
Daniel Dubois is set to lose an estimated sum in excess of £600,000 after beating Fabio Wardley on Saturday evening due to UK tax laws. The heavyweight bruiser cruised to the WBO title with an 11th-round TKO at Manchester's Co-Op Live - his third world championship in total, having previously held the WBA (Regular) and IBF belts.
It is thought that Dubois also pocketed in the region of a £1.3million payday for the bout, although 'Triple D' will not see that full amount. In the UK, anyone who earns over £125,140 annually is subject to the additional tax rate of 45 per cent. That means that £585,000 of Dubois' purse will go straight to HMRC.
Additionally, the 28-year-old will be subject to two per cent National Insurance, a further £26,000 - taking his potential total loss to a staggering £611k. If the fight purse estimations are correct, then it means that the Briton will be left with £689,000 to play with.
However, the champion will also likely give a portion of this to his corner, trainers and gym, as is standard practice. Speaking after his victory over Wardley - which has widely been dubbed as fight of the year - Dubois said: "It was a war.
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"We come through the sticky moments. It was a war. Thank you, Fabio, for that. Thank you."
When asked what's next for him, between the WBO's mandatory challenger in Moses Itauma and a potential third fight with undefeated Ukrainian Oleksandr Usyk, Dubois replied: "I want to grow from this fight, improve and come back even better and go on a reign as champion again."
Elsewhere, Frank Warren was almost left at a loss for words by the action-packed headline bout. He said: "It was amazing. These two guys show such heart - both of them.
"Great heart, chins, it was an amazing fight. It was just absorbing, it had everything. Exciting. Best heavyweight fight I've ever put on."
While there is a rematch clause embedded into the fight contract, Warren kept his cards close to his chest as to what the next move for Dubois is.
