Has Higher Purses Resulted in Weak Fights?

[Tony Trick-Pony]

When boxers step into the ring, they risk everything. So I am not slamming anybody's earning potential. Get the highest pay you can. I respect that.

However, during an interview, Roberto Duran pointed out how fighters these days make a hell of a lot more money than they did even in his day.

May-Pac is of course, the best example of this, but there have been many others. Most of Mayweather's big money fights were lackluster. Trinidad-De La Hoya was lackluster as well. Fury-Klitschko as well.

And not just the big fights. Many champions who are far from household names get paid a million to fight very ordinary opponents which was unheard of in the past.

I understand inflation and that a dollar doesn't go very far anymore, but I think that maybe the richer a fighter gets, the more civilized they become, especially early on.

Any thoughts?

[MasterPlan]

Everyone is getting more money now than in the past. Not just boxing everything. It's the times.

Steph Curry is not even the highest paid player on is team, yet his salary is more than the 1981 Champion Boston Celtics combined.

Rhihana probably made more this past year than Diana Ross did her entire career.

Ruberto Duran would be getting a nice check in today's climate. Mayweather would be getting paid like his uncle was hack in the day if he fought in the 80s.

[THEFRESHBRAWLER]

Everyone is getting more money now than in the past. Not just boxing everything. It's the times.

Steph Curry is not even the highest paid player on is team, yet his salary is more than the 1981 Champion Boston Celtics combined.

Rhihana probably made more this past year than Diana Ross did her entire career.

Ruberto Duran would be getting a nice check in today's climate. Mayweather would be getting paid like his uncle was hack in the day if he fought in the 80s.

Refreshing to see someone on here with common sense because it's definitely not used often around here.

[about.thousands]

You ever notice only broke boxers who wasted their money are complaining about what boxers get paid? I've never seen Foreman complaining about today's boxing/boxers.

[mathed]

When boxers step into the ring, they risk everything. So I am not slamming anybody's earning potential. Get the highest pay you can. I respect that.

However, during an interview, Roberto Duran pointed out how fighters these days make a hell of a lot more money than they did even in his day.

May-Pac is of course, the best example of this, but there have been many others. Most of Mayweather's big money fights were lackluster. Trinidad-De La Hoya was lackluster as well. Fury-Klitschko as well.

And not just the big fights. Many champions who are far from household names get paid a million to fight very ordinary opponents which was unheard of in the past.

I understand inflation and that a dollar doesn't go very far anymore, but I think that maybe the richer a fighter gets, the more civilized they become, especially early on.

Any thoughts?

Of course. Dudes are getting paid millions of dollars to fight anyone. Can anyone in their right mind honestly tell me that Broner is worth millions of dollars per fight? I can see maybe 250K in that range per fight for two fights a year but that is chump change to guys now days. Only a few dudes out there are worth more than a million a fight....like 4 or 5 tops.

[mathed]

Refreshing to see someone on here with common sense because it's definitely not used often around here.

Problem is boxing doesn't reinvest in itself to grow as a sport. You can't "keep up with the times" when all the guys in charge are raking everything off the top. The sport has like zero mainstream draw mainly because it's disjointed. NBA, NFL, MLB.......they are all leagues, one main governing body and team sports. MMA has the best fighting the best with much lower salaries and it's kicking boxing's ass. I hate to admit it but it's true....boxing's structure is antiquated and entirely counter productive to growth.

[Eff Pandas]

If fighters were being THAT overpaid promoters would be going out of business. They are getting paid what the market demands & allows for.

I think a bigger problem is the structure of boxing is convoluted & allows for boxers to sustain their nice purses with weaker fights since so many fights can't be made or are harder to make then they should be. Back in the day promoters didn't run boxing & demand dominance with being led promoter & with fighter options like they do today. Back in the day the top 2 guys in a division, who were the champion & the #1 contender, could have obvious & clear guidelines with setting up their fight & who's gonna be paid what. Nowadays just determining who's the top 2 in a division is a debatable subject often times & who should get what is highly disputable with much talk behind the scenes to decide. People like to throw all the blame on the boxers, but the entire game has changed so it should only be expected that fighters are playing the hand they've been dealt. I'm sure most boxers would love a clear & concise structure to boxing with clear & concise purses for winning & losing & just focus on training & fighting.

[jqSide]

Of course. Not only weak fights, but they're also not prompted to fight often. They're taking their time doe.

[Tony Trick-Pony]

Of course. Dudes are getting paid millions of dollars to fight anyone. Can anyone in their right mind honestly tell me that Broner is worth millions of dollars per fight? I can see maybe 250K in that range per fight for two fights a year but that is chump change to guys now days. Only a few dudes out there are worth more than a million a fight....like 4 or 5 tops.

Broner definitely is not worth it. His fight with Maidana, Maidana deserved the million for making everybody laugh.

[mathed]

If fighters were being THAT overpaid promoters would be going out of business. They are getting paid what the market demands & allows for.

I think a bigger problem is the structure of boxing is convoluted & allows for boxers to sustain their nice purses with weaker fights since so many fights can't be made or are harder to make then they should be. Back in the day promoters didn't run boxing & demand dominance with being led promoter & with fighter options like they do today. Back in the day the top 2 guys in a division, who were the champion & the #1 contender, could have obvious & clear guidelines with setting up their fight & who's gonna be paid what. Nowadays just determining who's the top 2 in a division is a debatable subject often times & who should get what is highly disputable with much talk behind the scenes to decide. People like to throw all the blame on the boxers, but the entire game has changed so it should only be expected that fighters are playing the hand they've been dealt. I'm sure most boxers would love a clear & concise structure to boxing with clear & concise purses for winning & losing & just focus on training & fighting.

PBC is the epitome of what I'm talking about. Within a year's time, they have gone through nearly half a billion dollars and are putting shows back on the very networks that they virtually tanked to kickstart their endeavor. Their "mainstream" effort is all but done now and they have nothing to show for it except for 200 + boxers wondering where their next checks are going to come from. All these dudes jumped ship because of the exorbitant paydays but as we see now, that stuff was short lived. HBO is now in the same boat, all they are willing to offer is PPV's for non-PPV fights because they simply can't afford to pay these high purses. It is what it is but everyone wants to be Mayweather and the demand isn't there.