Fans Bash TKO’s Boxing Pay Structure – ‘This Can’t Be Real’
TKO Group Holdings Inc. has confirmed their pay structure for their boxing league.
The league took the boxing world by surprise after Dana White confirmed his entry into boxing. The CEO of the UFC said the league would be based on the UFC model. He was also clear that he had no intention of working with the other boxing promoters, aiming to build boxing from the ground up. Those comments did not go down well with Oscar De La Hoya. The Golden Boy promoter made it clear that he is not going anywhere. Since then, Turki Alalshikh has suggested there is enough room in the boxing space for everyone to have their say.
Reports suggest that the first card will take place in September. There is a feeling that it could be Canelo Alvarez vs. Terence Crawford on Mexican Independence Weekend. Those two fighters are working closely with the Saudis, as the fight could very well be for the Undisputed Super Middleweight Belt. The UFC has been criticized for not paying fighters enough compared to boxing.
Pay Structure
This is evident from the increasing number of UFC fighters having crossover boxing bouts. Conor McGregor earned $100 million for boxing Floyd Mayweather, the biggest payday he had ever received. White would argue that only the top names should earn the most, raising suggestions that boxers earn too much. Ryan Garcia earned $50 million for fighting Devin Haney, while Floyd Mayweather earned over $300 million for fighting Manny Pacquiao. There was speculation that White would drastically reduce the purses, which has now come to fruition. BoxingScene has stated the pay structure as follows:
- $20,000 for a 10-round bout (unranked fighter)
- $50,000 for fighters ranked No. 5 to No. 10 by the company
- $125,000 for fighters ranked No. 3 to No. 4
- $375,000 for a championship challenge
- $750,000 for a title defense
White Reacts
“Everybody’s going to say it’s the money. I don’t do (expletive) anything for the money. I want to be in business with people that I’m aligned with. We have the same ideas, we have the values. We have the same everything… I’m going to go in and select who my partner is going to be. Then they’re going to let me know what they need, as far as programming goes.
“I’ll let them know what works for me and, as a partnership, we’ll work out a rights deal… I like taking things are that broken, can’t be fixed and I’m going to fix them. I’m going to take this thing everywhere. We’re going all over the US. We’re going to Mexico, Canada, Brazil, Australia, the UK. The list goes on. Just like UFC. You can’t build a boxing business without America. You have to have the United States to have a truly successful sport,” White said
Those figures have resulted in a strong reaction from the boxing community, with many people having their say.
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