Comments Thread For: Hearn: I'll Pay Wilder $5M to Fight Anyone He Wants Next in N.Y.

[Scipio2009]

Does it really matter to boxing fans who shows the fight? I suppose at least with Matchroom showing an interest in Wilder, Showtime (or whoever) may be forced to start paying him what he he's worth. I like Wilder and his unorthodox style so in my view, if his profile rises, he gets paid more (which he should be) and the AJ vs Wilder build up move to a different level. Win Win!

^^^lol.

It obviously matters enough to Matchroom Sport that they chose to take considerably less money to keep the fight at home.

Wilder got a guaranteed $2.1m for the Ortiz fight on Showtime; Wilder is basically sitting on the cap of what one can max get paid on premium TV (HBO/Showtime). The payout for Wilder-Ortiz was over $3m for the show (CBS being on board extends the cap to about $4.5m for a show before needing to go to PPV).

All this is is Hearn stalling for time and trying to save face.

[OldTerry]

Wilder said it’s not about the money. It doesn’t matter what THEY sayd. We shouldn’t take what the fighters themselves say at face value.

In an ideal, honor bound world with no promoters or people who stand to earn from this that would happen. The same could be said about Wilder. The main issue here is that one fighter is just such a vastly superior draw and money maker than the other.

Throughout boxing history, the cash cow has consistantly called the shots until someone beats them and claims that status. It’s not often you see such a discrepency in drawing power come to this. I mean that as the B side being so diva-esque.

One guy is the significantly larger draw with a win on the resume that may very well be superior to the (potential) win he’d have over Wilder.

Joshua has Wladimir on the resume. He has a signature win over a legend (albeit an old one) in what turned out to be a classic fight. Wilder isnt just the b side money wise, but resume wise.

Wilder needs to concede because he’s going to find that the world will keep moving with or without him.


It’s not about fairness it’s about reality. Dont hate the player, hate the game. Doesnt matter how much I like Wilder, I know that the fight isnt going to happen on his terms. Everyone does.

Of course you are right. But as a fight fan I want to see fights that have more meaning than who is the "A" side and deserves the most money. Obviously Joshua wins out as the "A" side. The reality though is that Hearn and Joshua don't think AJ is ready for Wilder. Joseph Parker's manager says the same and said that also makes sense business wise. The reality is that "A" side does not equal who would win the fight.

[_Rexy_]

So he’ll only pay $12.5 mil to fight AJ...

Or a 5 mil bonus to NOT fight AJ

[EnglishOxide]

Please share the tweet where Stephen Espinoza confirmed any such thing, since we're having the conversation.

Why would Eddie Hearn have Anthony Joshua mainline a contract with Sky Box Office?

Loyalty is loyalty, but the main reason why I see Joshua never leaving Matchroom Sport is because the Sky Box Office deal is between only Matchroom and Sky Sports.

There you go mate, Wilder is not contracted to Showtime. Or if he is, Espinoza has refused to confirm it. This is a pretty ****** thing to do when trying to negotiate a big fight, no?

[Scipio2009]

There you go mate, Wilder is not contracted to Showtime. Or if he is, Espinoza has refused to confirm it. This is a pretty ****** thing to do when trying to negotiate a big fight, no?

Deontay Wilder has a year's long working relationship with Showtime that everyone seems more than happy with.

Anthony Joshua has no contract with Wembley Arena, or any arena anywhere, but comfort is still comfort.

It's a two-way street and that should be respected by both parties, instead of only Eddie Hearn's deals having merit (Still don't see anything about Sky Sports signing Anthony Joshua to anything, and Eddie Hearn already went to the public with his story of the DAZN deal supposedly having nothing to do with Anthony Joshua).

To each their own, I guess

[Ray*]

Would you put all your money on Wilder winning this fight?

Am sure Al is worth more than that.

[Dean_Razorback]

HBO and Showtime always guarantee the purses for major PPVs. Showtime was guaranteeing the 50 million.

didn't know this. damn, that's a lot of money to walk away from

[Boksfan]

Am sure Al is worth more than that.

He either is one of the richest people in US or you tripping.

[Ray*]

I think that the American boxing press (and American sports press generally) presides over whether the casual fan buys into fights/fighters as PPV attractions in the US, the market that might be able to launch Anthony Joshua into a billion dollar fighter.

Joshua-Fury will make what it'll make in the UK, but it won't be more than the $50m that Joshua-Klitschko drew, which is my point. There's not a bigger venue in the UK, the UK fan likely won't be able to tolerate much higher ticket prices, Sky Sports isn't likely to want to raise the price of Box Office past £20, and Joshua vs Wilder, even as a battle of two British heavyweights, isn't likely to draw many more homes than Joshua-Klitschko and Froch-Groves 2 had shown were possible in the UK.

Joshua is only just beginning is PPV journey in the U.K., no one can predict how far he would go. Fighting Wilder for now is the biggest money fight. But there are potential other fights for him in the next 3/4 years if he keeps his PPV numbers going. The U.K. fans are a devoted bunch of casuals, they don’t look at things the way we do. Even old women buy his fights. So yeah there is no ceiling for his improvement from that area.

[Scipio2009]

Joshua is only just beginning is PPV journey in the U.K., no one can predict how far he would go. Fighting Wilder for now is the biggest money fight. But there are potential other fights for him in the next 3/4 years if he keeps his PPV numbers going. The U.K. fans are a devoted bunch of casuals, they don’t look at things the way we do. Even old women buy his fights. So yeah there is no ceiling for his improvement from that area.

We'll see.

Floyd and Oscar set the US PPV market in 2007 at what they set it at, and that basically held from then on in. The Mayweather-Pacquiao fight finally happens 5 years later than it was to happen and no one would even be heard saying that the fight draws $300m, yet it went out and drew over $450m. The McGregor fight comes around two years after that and again goes over $400m on PPV, marking that as the new ceiling.

If Anthony Joshua can grow the UK PPV market from a Max of 1.5m-1.7m to something closer to 3m homes, more power to him. I don't see it.