Fight the best or fight for money?

As a boxer It would be nice to have a lot of fans chanting your name, but at the end of the day, when your career is over, those fans won't be paying you no medical bills. It has to be money first and then the fight.

As a boxing fan, obviously I want to see the best fights, but that's because i'm just a fan of boxing. The consequences of the big fight do not affect me, like it could do for the boxers.

 

It depends on the context. I can totally understand Pavlik turning down $50 grand to fight Ward. On the other side of the scale, how much money is enough?
Mayweather aside, how much money has Cotto made? Unless he's financially illiterate he has more than enough for the medical bills. His legacy would be through the roof with a win over Golovkin, and he'd still earn a few million, but no.
How much money does a fighter have to earn before he stops thinking about money and fights for legacy?

 

Good post. Incredible it was Eubank of all people to come out with that statement. That guy would have fought Tyson

 

Tyson was getting 40 mil and his opponents about 20% of the PPV split plus the guarantee.

I remember Peter McNeeley got something like 1.5 mil for his 90 minutes of work.

 

40M back then? Thats totally insane. I suppose the guy transcended boxing. SOB of an opponent in Punch Out!

 

1. Fight the best. Make money.
2. If the best won't fight you, fight for money.

Mayweather will get criticized for fighting Cotto to pick up an essentially meaningless accomplishment/lots of money by beating someone he already dominated.

It's even worse than that, since Mayweather would be clearly ducking the best (Pacquiao) and the most money (Pacquiao). It would be a clear admission that making the most money and/or fighting the best are not his priorities.

Golovkin can't get fights at 160. If he goes to 168, nobody in their right mind expects Ward to fight him. Meaning he should go for the $$ in a fight that gets a lot of viewers because it will build demand for the Ward fight.

Sounds like a double-standard? Keep in mind Golovkin wouldn't be running from anyone if he fought Chavez Jr.

 

They usually go hand in hand

 

Eubank understood that rivalries produce money, and great fighters produce rivalries.

He's fight anybody because he had the nutz for it and he knew that was how you get money.

Ex.

You're a fighter. You have two options for your next fight. One is a great fighter, the other is a pushover. Which one is going to pay more 9 times out of 10?

And a serious "F*ck you" to all of you glass-sacked pansies going on about food on the table and medical bills. You're talking about guys who are multimillionaires ffs, not some 4-round club fighters with losing records. I never hear you sticking up for those guys. :think

 

They usually go hand-in-hand, but here's the problem regarding this sad Mayweather-Pacquiao debacle since 2009/10. They made lots of money fighting easier, or perceived, easy opponents. Pacquiao fighting Shane Mosley in 2011? After the Mayweather loss and draw to Sergio Mora? Mayweather still making huge $$$ fighting the likes of Robert Guerrero and Victor Ortiz? Yes, because people still bought this junk and actually believed the **** of Ortiz being this young threat.

It's no coincidence that when their PPV sales went down (people not buying their **** anymore), we are NOW closer to the fight than anytime since the end of 09'.

 

We live in a strange era where fighters will turn down fights if there is money to be made or not. Quillin is a prime example of this type of cowardice.

 

not sure how it would be set up maybe like the world cup or olympics every 4 years but sometimes i wish boxing was set up like other sports where the best have to go against the best to find out who the best is.

 

If it was GGG's first fight at the weight I think he has a right to test the waters against a lesser opponent to settle in before going on with a p4p elite fighter at the weight.

I think ward should be afforded the same luxury if he goes up to 175, it would be unfair to sling him in with Kovalev in his first fight at the weight. Stevenson less so as he's a natural 168lber anyway.