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I see it all the time, people always write about this fighter or that fighter needing to step up the competition. While it sounds like a great idea, it's much harder to do than you think - and I'm not talking about the fighter being able to handle the next level of opponent.
The biggest hurdle involved in stepping up the competition isn't a fighters' ability, it's the money factor involved! Everyone wants to get PAID.
Let's say you have a great looking prospect who is moving up the ranks, such as in the case of Lamont Peterson for instance. The guy has all the skills in the world, and you know he can beat a slew of fighters at his present level. He is undefeated and ready to step up. In fact he wants to take on the upper tier fighters.
Here's the problem. Let's say Peterson makes around 20 to 25K per fight at this point. Now you need to put him in with a guy who could potentially beat him on this next level, for that, your fighter will need to get MORE money for the fight. He needs to get paid more, because he could in fact lose to his next opponent, and if that happens, his chances of getting a title shot could be dashed and 10 years of hard work down the drain. Now your fighter needs 60K for a fight - at least.
It's not just your fighter who needs more money in this promotion, his opponent costs more too, after all, he is already at the "next tier" so to speak. That opponent is going to cost you 80 to 100K.
So how are you as a Promoter, going to be able to get that money? You are out of pocket 130K to 160K and you haven't even started spending money on the promotion of the fight itself. All you have is a signed contract between two fighters. The rest of the card isn't even put together yet, you have all those fighters to pay, plus their people - then there is all that airfare you have to buy to get everyone to the venue, plus the cars and drivers it takes to get everyone picked up at the airport and shuttled around for 3 days. You still have to pay for all the advertising, all the printing, of course there is the 2 Million Dollar insurance policy you have to buy for the event. Oh, and then there is the cost of the venue itself as well as their staff, and the parking attendants, you have to pay for that stuff too you know. Even Ticketmaster charges you to print up all those tickets, plus they get a nice cut off the top for tickets sold for the event. Let's not forget all those State Boxing Commission Fees too as well as the State Taxes on your tickets.
Let's say you are now looking at close to 200K - and you haven't sold a single ticket yet. You just hope your prospect and his opponent can draw a crowd.
So, you see fight fans - unless you have say an HBO or a Showtime buying your fight, you risk losing a TON of money in just one event, right out of your pocket - and all your trying to do is STEP UP THE COMPETITION....
The biggest hurdle involved in stepping up the competition isn't a fighters' ability, it's the money factor involved! Everyone wants to get PAID.
Let's say you have a great looking prospect who is moving up the ranks, such as in the case of Lamont Peterson for instance. The guy has all the skills in the world, and you know he can beat a slew of fighters at his present level. He is undefeated and ready to step up. In fact he wants to take on the upper tier fighters.
Here's the problem. Let's say Peterson makes around 20 to 25K per fight at this point. Now you need to put him in with a guy who could potentially beat him on this next level, for that, your fighter will need to get MORE money for the fight. He needs to get paid more, because he could in fact lose to his next opponent, and if that happens, his chances of getting a title shot could be dashed and 10 years of hard work down the drain. Now your fighter needs 60K for a fight - at least.
It's not just your fighter who needs more money in this promotion, his opponent costs more too, after all, he is already at the "next tier" so to speak. That opponent is going to cost you 80 to 100K.
So how are you as a Promoter, going to be able to get that money? You are out of pocket 130K to 160K and you haven't even started spending money on the promotion of the fight itself. All you have is a signed contract between two fighters. The rest of the card isn't even put together yet, you have all those fighters to pay, plus their people - then there is all that airfare you have to buy to get everyone to the venue, plus the cars and drivers it takes to get everyone picked up at the airport and shuttled around for 3 days. You still have to pay for all the advertising, all the printing, of course there is the 2 Million Dollar insurance policy you have to buy for the event. Oh, and then there is the cost of the venue itself as well as their staff, and the parking attendants, you have to pay for that stuff too you know. Even Ticketmaster charges you to print up all those tickets, plus they get a nice cut off the top for tickets sold for the event. Let's not forget all those State Boxing Commission Fees too as well as the State Taxes on your tickets.
Let's say you are now looking at close to 200K - and you haven't sold a single ticket yet. You just hope your prospect and his opponent can draw a crowd.
So, you see fight fans - unless you have say an HBO or a Showtime buying your fight, you risk losing a TON of money in just one event, right out of your pocket - and all your trying to do is STEP UP THE COMPETITION....
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