Comments Thread For: Ward Discusses The Need For A Pension For Retired Fighters

[Smash]

don king is yer man

[TelMex]

Always wondered if Haymon put a % of each fighter's purse aside to help them out later down the line. Anybody know if this is part of his "adviser" role?

[BustedKnuckles]

I'd like a pension, too. The fact of the matter is that most businesses moved away from providing pensions for their workers 20-30 years ago. It's a pipe dream. Boxing is barely a legitimate business. I certainly wouldn't trust them with running a 401k, either. I've heard that Al Haymon stresses the importance of saving and investing to his fighters, and helps get them set up. That's probably the way to go. Anybody can start an IRA or Brokerage account with a reputable bank.

This, absolutely. Visit fidelity and set up a roth ira and a separate investment fund. Make monthly deposits for S&P 500 or Nasdaq index fund, and watch it grow. It's not rocket science, and you don't need another set of hands in the mix deducting their fees from your money.

Any athlete who gets good financial coaching from a coach or wise fellow/former athlete is fprtunate. Otherwise it's easy to burn through piles of cash with no thought of tomorrow.

[hitmanjosh]

That is what I miss about Emanual Stewerd. He tought his guys more than just boxing. Most bought up real estate and doing very well in retirement.

Tell me the ones you think are doing well and then I give you truth then we can talk about the ones who are now longer here and died broke so I say know what you are saying before you say it!

[Combat Talk Radio]

Always wondered if Haymon put a % of each fighter's purse aside to help them out later down the line. Anybody know if this is part of his "adviser" role?

That’s why Broner fell out with him, because that’s exactly what Haymon was doing- put him on a strict allowance and put money away. Broner wasn’t having it.

Sounds good to say what these promoters and managers should do, but some fighters don’t want the help.

[BodyBagz]

This is not a new idea.
Until boxing institutes such a fund, MFers have to, oh, I don't know, manage their own money perhaps ?!?!?

Damn
How many examples do athletes need, pension or not, how fast they can go broke ?!?!?

Along with a boxing license, offer money management/English language classes ?
Chances are, a MFer will not take these classes.

[Roadblock]

I’m all for this.

A percentage of their purse should go to into a pension fund, the promoter should also contribute a percentage as they are essentially the fighters employer. This could really help fighters out.

I know former British champions who work for minimum wage, there are well documented examples of World champions going bankrupt. The sport needs to do more to protect the fighters.

No chance it happens though.

Yeah it sounds like a great idea when a guy was an average pug earned little and fought hard and suffering in old age, he deserves a pension for sure like a returned serviceman gets a special pension.

I agree a scheme where the super-rich fighters pay a premium percentage or maybe a flat 3% from all purses is used to fund a fighter retirement scheme.

[OnePunch]

This is nothing but virtue signaling. There are not enough active fighters who would be capable of paying into a system like that for it to work. I suspect that less than 5% of fighters are actually making a living as a fighter, maybe even less than that. The top 100 fighters in the world likely receive 97% or 98% of the revenue, So where exactly is the money going to come from? And what is the criteria to receive it? Is a 2-6 opponent eligible? Fighters have such a short career duration that the math just doesnt work. Are contributions based on certain purse amounts? Do foreign fighters have to contribute when fighting on US soil? If they are contributing, are they eligible to receive benefits? In most every functioning union, even the lowest paid employee is paying union dues. Are you going to do that here? Does the guy who just made $800 for a 4 rounder need to pay union dues?

See, everyone likes to talk about how we need a union, but NOBODY talks about how to actually do it and have it be sustainable. So its all just lip service. I would rather see conversations about the ABC standardizing medical tests among EVERY state commission, or requiring higher insurance coverage levels for combat sports. Some states only require shows to carry $25,000 worth of medical coverage. That's fine if someone just needs a few stitches or something minor. But its laughable if you are talking about catastrophic injuries. I mean jeez, at least raise it to $250k for starters, and make it a nationwide requirement. No more doing shows in low-rent back country states with weak medical requirements and little to no insurance.

If Ward want to run his mouth, it should be about solutions that are actually DOABLE, not some millionaire patting himself on the back about how he's looking out for the little guy lol

[Toffee]

Who actually employs them? In theory it's the fighters who are the employer.

It's prize fighting. You get a prize, not a pension.

But yes the hangers on should be educating these young men on what to do with their money. Might realistically be something for the orgs to institute. In theory they are the organising body.

[landotter]

Financial literacy classes /courses are a more realistic course of action IMHO ....

Yeah, I agree. Of course, this is true of every human on planet Earth, not just boxers. As the vast, VAST majority of fighters never even sniff big money, having tools to teach them how their country's or regions system can help them would be invaluable and promotion companies can set these up at a very small expense.

In a vacuum, unions that have their members actually as their priority are a great way to provide for these athletes futures on some level. Problem is, life does not happen in a vacuum and usually Unions become big business. I worry the fact boxing is so fragmented there is zero chance any entity like a Union could be set up that can handle even a small portion of the needs and quickly grow into just another problem.