Was the $50 million there or not?

[Raggamuffin]

Wait, what? I'm not going to take a side on this, but since when is anyone in boxing held accountable for their words? The whole industry is built on PR stunts. Every single day, someone in the business says things they'll never follow through on.

Either one side is lying, or both sides are lying. Which throws out of the defense of not doing it in case of "possibly ruining their reputation", because at least one of those sides are doing it anyway.

So what's the benefit of creating a PR stunt on Wilder's behalf when both guys who manage him have made fights where their guy has made together over 300+ mil for fights? SHO and Espinosa has paid Floyd millions in that 6 fight deal? It's ok to have doubt, but I fail to see your doubt and reasoning.

[b00g13man]

The poll results are surprising so far.

[Clegg]

Why would Al Haymon, Shelly Finkel, and Stephen Espinoza stick their necks out and possibly ruin their reputation just for a PR stunt? They all have reputations to uphold, and since Wilder is "just some guy from Alabama" that can't put up $50 million why would they risk their reputations for him? AJ fans, explain.

Yeah this is my take on it. 50M is a lot of money but the 3 guys you mentioned have all been involved in big fights with similar paydays. They don't have any history of not paying fighters.

The 'well they need to prove the money exists' stuff was just part of the chain of excuses.

[Ray*]

I definitely think that money would have been available if Team Joshua said yes to it. They would be investing that money in the hope Wilder wins that fight. So yes i think the money was there, moreover didn't hearn confirm that the money was there (I don't know what people mean be "There" but am guessing it meant available) too.

[Accolade]

The poll results are surprising so far.

Fewer idiots on this forum than I thought. Vocal minority.

[bballchump11]

It's asinine to think otherwise and to even suggest that Wilder's people couldn't come up with the money just shows that Hearn was looking to stall this fight.

[New England]

What's amazing is Hearn was in New York and wanted a meeting with Finkel.
He was denied the meeting. It's so unprofessional and childish.
Never seen anything like it.

he wasn't trying to discuss a fight in las vegas for 50 million bucks. why talk about gloves branding and ring size when you won't agree to the important stuff?

eddie hearn is a liar, he's been very dishonest during these negotiations but if you listen to enough of his interviews you either get the truth or what must be the truth based on deductions you make from what he has said.


he said this:
first that 12 million pounds, not a lot more than joe parker made, is a fair offer. AKA he is saying t that the fight is small. the biggest boxing match that can be made is never signed on a flat fee. ever. but if it is it should reflect a fair split of the purse, i'd say around 35-40%. in other words, eddie hearn lowballed the value of the fight, and subsequently wilder.

then joshua, in a manner designed to make his own offer seem reasonable, says he'll fight for 50 million. he obviously doesn't know much about the finances of boxing or the global economy. hopkins - calzaghe did more at the gate than joshua - klitshcko. the us GDP is 10X the size of england's. a casino in las vegas will pay you to host the fight. you'll sell $100 ppvs. lots and lots and lots of them.

so they get an offer for 50 million bucks iwth an upside. here is what is important in regard to what you posted: eddie turned this offer down! he did not go to new york to negotiate! he was alerady there on dazn [unrelated,] business, and he did not want to negotiate a fight in america for 50 million dollars. so there is nothing to discuss. again, they know what eddie offered, a lowball. they are not going to talk about sponsorsips on the apron when they don't have an agreement on the important terms; how much money and when.


you can go back and find all of this coming from eddie's mouth! you'll also see that he stalled during what he claimed was a crucial week by not giving the date or venue for a revised offer he sent back to wilder. then CONVENIENTLY the WBA calls in a mandatory. if you wanted to let your horse run you drop that colored piece of leather and you take the fight where it will make themost money. eddie hearn has told you he is not willing to do that! wants the fight in the UK. wants it next year. willing to do it for less money.


this is what it is, eddie hearn preys literally on a football fan mentality. they just want to show up, drink ,and watcha british guy win. they genuinely don't want to engage the sport further than that.

don't be a football fan, kid.

[New England]

It's asinine to think otherwise and to even suggest that Wilder's people couldn't come up with the money just shows that Hearn was looking to stall this fight.

showtime, cbs, and al haymon don't have 50 million to put in an escrow account until the checks from 2 million ppvs at $100

[rickJen]

...the biggest boxing match that can be made is never signed on a flat fee. ever.

That's all subjective speculation.
How do you know it's big?! Are you God?
This Deontay character is not even recognized by the media.
CNN couldn't even identify him.
His entire career was fabricated.
At one point he was fighting an average of 7x a year.
How can a fighter even do that?
Who were these people he was fighting?
He ducked an almost retired Klitschko like a disease.

Is this the guy who deserves to even get $5 million?
Man this is bad for the sport.
Who is next? The Charlo sisters?
Fights scrubs all your career and just wait for high pay days to come?

Wilder’s Record:

1st Ethan Cox, wasn't ranked
2nd Shannon Gray, wasn't ranked
3rd Richard Greene Jr, wasn't ranked
4th Joseph Rabotte, ranked 393rd in the World
5th Charles Brown, wasn't ranked
6th Kelsey Arnold, wasn't ranked
7th Travis Allen, wasn't ranked
8th Jerry Vaughn, wasn't ranked
9th Ty Cobb, ranked 399th in the Heavyweight World
10th Alvaro Morales, wasn't ranked
11th Dustin Nichols, wasn't ranked
12th Shannon Caudle, wasn't ranked
13th Harold Sconiers, wasn't ranked
14th Dan Sheehan, wasn't ranked
15th DeAndrey Abron, wasn't ranked
16th Reggie Pena, wasn't ranked
17th Damon Reed, ranked 304th in the World
18th Dominique Alexander, wasn't ranked
19th Daniel Cota, ranked 489th in the World
20th David Long, wasn't ranked
21st Marlon Hayes, ranked 368th in the World
22nd Jesse Oltmanns, ranked 492th in the World
23rd Owen Beck, wasn't ranked
24th Kertson Manswell, ranked 310th in the World
25th Damon McCreary, ranked 357th in the World
26th Kelvin Price, wasn't ranked
27th Matthew Greer, ranked 325th in the World
28th Audley Harrison, ranked 136th in the World
29th Siarhei Liakhovich, ranked 43rd in the World
30th Nicolai Firtha, ranked 121nd in the World
31st Malik Scott, ranked 86th in the World
32nd Jason Gavern, ranked 194th in the World
33rd Bermane Stiverne, ranked 4th in the World
34th Eric Molina, ranked 37th in the World
35th Johann Duhaupas, ranked 34th in the World
36th Artur Szpilka, ranked 24th in the World
37th Chris Arreola, ranked 43rd in the World
38th Gerald Washington ranked 41st in the World
39th Bermane Stiverne “inactive for two years and UNRANKED at time of fight"
40th Luis Ortiz - ranked 6th (39 years old)

[brettWall]

Knowing that this fight will take place in the US, the question is are the American audience ready to welcome back the revival of the heavyweight division in the form of this fight? Assuming an optimistic projection is possible, who are they going to see the winner fight next if they want to see more? How many names in this division do casuals are even familiar with? There's hardly anyone.