By Andreas Hale, photo by Hoganphotos.

This week, Canelo Alvarez and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. agreed to bet their entire fight purses against each other for their May 6 showdown. It’s something that most likely will not hold up, but the idea of two fighters so confident in their ability that they are willing to risk it all is impressive and should be practiced by more fighters.

“He said he was going to knock me out in eight rounds and I bet him his purse that he wouldn't beat me and that he wouldn't knock me out and he accepted," Alvarez said at Wednesday’s prefight tour. "And we shook hands in front of the cameras and I think here in the United States when you give someone your word that makes it official."

Can you imagine if more fighters thought like this? Granted, they shouldn’t wager their entire purse because they should walk away with some compensation after a fight.

However, things become very intriguing when boxers aren’t guaranteed massive paydays regardless of what happens in the squared circle. When their fight purse is on the line, a fight is no longer a sport where guys are just happy to show up. Instead, it becomes a dire affair where nobody can take a round off or cruise to victory.

Imagine the passion two fighters would have if they engaged in a “winner takes all” fight? We’ve seen it far too many times where fighters are simply happy to show up, get punched in the face and collect a check. But if that check were to be a pot of money that only the winner received? Well, let’s just say that Mayweather-Pacquiao likely wouldn’t have play out in the underwhelming manner that it did.

Understandably, there has to be certain parameters for this to ever make sense. But an incentivized approach may work better for both the fighters and fight fans. A fighter should always be paid for their service. They entertain fans and put their lives on the line every single time they climb into the ring and exchange punches with their opponent.

However, if you tack on a hefty purse that only the winner could take home with him, it adds another layer of drama to the fight that fans would immediately draw to.

Maybe Canelo is on to something with an in-fight wager. The idea that both fighters will be paid the same regardless of the outcome may have always been an issue in boxing. Fighters will take fewer risks if they know they’ll be getting a clearly defined amount of money. But incentivizing fights could solve that.

How many times have you watched a fight where a fighter cruised to victory and you were left staring at your television in disbelief? Probably more often than not. However, if the contracts are incentivized with bonuses for knockouts and knockdowns, then it is likely that fighters won’t show up to simply collect a check.

Unfortunately, the Nevada State Athletic Commission has already shot down the idea of a winner-takes-all fight.

“I’m not even sure our deputy attorney general would even allow it — betting purses is a lot of money and doesn’t seem like a wise thing to do,” NSAC Executive Director Bob Bennett said in an interview with the Los Angeles Times. “If they want to put that in their new contract, then I’d see, but we don’t condone our fighters betting against each other for their purses. It’s never been done in my time here.”

Ultimately, it’s a fascinating concept that could only help the action inside of the ring. Furthermore, it exemplifies what it means when the stakes are high. Forget undefeated records and boring decision victories. Boxing could use an injection like this to add another layer to high profile fights. The sport has suffered from ring tacticians taking less and less risks because they simply have no reason to go for a knockout if they’ve managed to build a lead. Conversely, an opponent won’t be resigned to give up down the stretch. Instead, they could perform at a high level for the duration of the fight and hope to land that fight changing punch.

But, alas, this is boxing and Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. will fight with pride on the line May 5. They are fighting to be the representative of a country with a long lineage of champions. Bragging rights come first because the money is already situated (except for whatever happens on the scale). Fortunately, there’s so much pride involved in this fight that we’ll likely get our fair share of fireworks. But for other fights that aren’t so deep in cultural pride, maybe a friendly wager can be agreed upon that can spice things up.