With athletes usually trading through a limited company, what are heavyweight boxers like Daniel Dubois and Oleksandr Usyk really earning?
When we talk about greatness in sport, we usually talk about physical strength, mindset and sacrifice. We rarely talk about financial resilience: how athletes protect what they’ve earned long after they’ve stepped out of the ring or off the field.
For elite performers, the real fight isn’t just against an opponent. It’s against time, injury, short career spans and, often, the tax system.
Athletes and entertainers usually trade through a limited company (or a Qualified Personal Service Corporation in the US) to benefit from reduced tax rates.
Essential structure
Corporation tax is almost always lower than the top income tax brackets – 45 per cent in the UK and 37 per cent in the US – and company profits aren’t subject to National Insurance (UK) or self-employment tax (US), which can push personal rates up to 53 per cent and 40 per cent respectively.
This structure isn’t just legal, it’s essential. Unlike accountants, lawyers, or even actors and musicians who can peak well into their fifties or sixties, athletes, especially in combat sports, have brutally short careers.
The toll on the body is real, cumulative, and often invisible. At some point every extra round, every extra training camp, delivers diminishing returns. More pain, less gain. They have a tiny window to earn a lifetime’s income.
Hath no Fury
Let’s take Tyson Fury. He reportedly made £81m for his first fight with Oleksandr Usyk in May last year and £60m for the second, in December. Massive paydays, but with very different outcomes.
The split decision loss in the first fight didn’t just strip Fury of the undisputed heavyweight title, it shaved £20m off his next purse. His stock dropped. His market value dipped.
One miscalculated training camp and the trajectory shifted. That’s how fast it changes. But taxes move even faster, and they’re far more consistent in what they take.
Fury operates through a UK limited company. That alone gives him access to the 25 per cent corporation tax rate. Without this structure, he could face up to 63 per cent in personal taxes.
That single shift, company vs personal, could save him £31m in one year – more than most boxers will ever earn in their careers.
Boxing smart
A smart accountant wouldn’t let him withdraw all of that at once, triggering a massive personal tax bill. Instead, he should invest through the company – in property, ETFs and capital assets – and benefit from lower corporate tax rates on the investment returns.
He could then take dividends, wages, or pension contributions strategically, based on what makes sense year to year. Need more liquidity? Baby No8 on the way? Adjust accordingly.
That strategic £31m tax saving could fund Fury’s entire retirement, and possibly his seven children’s lives too.
In the UK, the tax system has become increasingly aggressive since the pandemic. The recent election changes didn’t help. In contrast, the US offers bigger bands, more generous thresholds, and more opportunities.
Had Fury relocated to the US, even with a similar setup to what he has now, he might have saved an additional £2-10m in 2024 alone. Add in his US fanbase and pay-per-view revenue, and the commercial upside becomes even clearer.
Then there’s Saudi Arabia, where the tax rate is 0 per cent. On paper, that’s £75m saved on £141m in income. But it’s not that simple. He’d need to exit the UK tax system first, which takes time and planning. You can’t just fly in and call it residency.
If Fury wanted to avoid UK tax on his 2024 earnings, he needed to leave by 5 April 2024, stay non-resident for two full tax years, and spend fewer than 90 days in the UK each year, with no more than 30 workdays per year.
That’s a massive lifestyle shift, especially for someone like Fury, who is deeply tied to his culture, his family, and his fans.
Favourable tax?
Which is why I often advise clients: if you want to relocate, consider the US instead. Florida, Texas, and Nevada all have no personal state income tax.
With the recent extension of the Trump-era tax cuts, the US now offers some of the most favourable conditions for wealth building among high performers.
Those tax cuts were supposed to sunset in 2025. It’s now extended to 2034. Nine more years of low taxes and real social mobility.
Unfortunately, for Fury, the window may have closed. But for Daniel Dubois, it’s just opening. At 27, with a reported £52.5m purse from this weekend’s big fight with Usyk at Wembley, he still has time to make smart moves.
As a UK tax resident, 25 per cent of that will go straight to the taxman. That’s £13m gone – more than the estimated £10m he made fighting Joshua last year – before he even starts paying himself.
But if Dubois is as disciplined with his tax planning as he is with his training, he can flip this payday into generational wealth.
Athletes sacrifice everything for their sport, but it’s still a job. A high-stakes, time-limited sprint to
build a lifetime of financial security within one single decade. Why should half of it go to tax if they’re not going to get half the benefits back? If we can get the planning right, we can leverage peak performance into permanent security.
Oriana Morrison is the founder and CEO of ECNMX, a UK-US tax strategist for elite performers in sport and entertainment, trusted by leading organisations like Fifa and high-profile athletes including Anthony Joshua.
