Millions of People paid to watch Anthony Joshua Regain Title.

Criticism of Anthony Joshua for boxing in the Asian nation doesn't seem to have affected his quality with the British public, with over 1,000,000 people paying a minimum of £24.95 to look at the heavyweight regain his world titles on Saturday – a figure that's likely to be a United Kingdom record.

Joshua’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, said: “We are waiting on the final number but it has almost certainly broken the United Kingdom pay-per-view record.”

The 30-year-old Joshua earned regarding £60m for his WBA, IBF, WBO and IBO heavyweight rematch with the Mexican-American Andy Ruiz Jr, a record fee for a British athlete for one sporting event.

Anthony Joshua

However, his call to fight in Riyadh led to extended criticism from Amnesty International that warned he was being duped by a Saudi a regime with an “absymal” human rights record that enclosed the murder of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Human rights organizations have also warned about significant restrictions on freedom of expression and women’s rights, as well as the use of the death penalty for offenses not recognized as crimes under international law. The heir to the Saudi throne, Mohammad bin Salman, has denied any involvement in Khashoggi’s murder, line it a “mistake” and “a heinous crime” by his country’s agents.

Crown Prince Mohammad, who runs the country on behalf of his father, was at the fight on Saturday and was fist-pumped by Joshua once his victory.

Hearn, who hailed the fight as a huge success, confirmed the exchange afterward. “He did a fist-pump to Joshua, and he did a fist-pump back,” said Hearn. “I spoke to the Saudi sports minister, Abdulaziz bin Turki al-Faisal, afterward. they just desire it was a huge moment for the country.”

Speaking last night, Joshua said he did not mind the pressure he faced from human rights groups to talk out, but he felt unable to do so because he wasn't aware of all the issues. “It’s good people ask me the queries – they require to hear my view about it,” he added. “I assume you guys have made me more aware of the problems. I swear the fight was my main focus but that may change. 

I thought I was going to see some serious stuff going on – you would expect that from what you hear about Saudi – however, I will only maintain what I have experienced.”

Hearn also insisted that it had been unfair to single out Joshua for criticism when so many other athletes were returning to The Asian nation, including ATP tennis players this week, Spanish football stars in January and therefore the world’s high cyclists a month later. “We have said right along with that everyone these sports are returning here and however you guys are writing articles criticizing Joshua however not others,” he said. “Tyson Fury came here 3 weeks past to make cash for doing a WWE wrestling event, not a correct sporting event.”

Joshua is probably going to fight next in England, with a fight at Tottenham’s new 60,000-capacity stadium in either April or May, with the IBF champion Kubrat Pulev the preferred choice.

“I’m obtaining a lot of and more experienced, understanding myself, and that’s an honest issue,” he added. “Even though I took my loss [against Ruiz], I had to find out, didn’t I? I didn’t lose heart. I’m back once more, I’m learning. And we’re planning to go back to the gym. I’m planning to go to the city [his coaching camp] early, and simply keep practicing my skills.

“I ought to keep active and have the hunger to find out,” he continues. “I took my loss to Ruiz in June and got my belts back, and here we return. I actually have to defend my titles.”

Saudi Arabia has announced that it'll host a ranking snooker event in Riyadh for the first time once signing a 10-year alter World Snooker. The Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters will take place from 4-10 October next year, with an award of £2.5m. The champion can receive £500,000, a constant amount because of the winner of the sport’s World Championship.

“This is a big leap forward for our sport,” said World Snooker chairman Barry Hearn, Eddie Hearn’s father. “Snooker has fully grown to such an extent that we are now creating exceptional tournaments at this level.”