Insightful and sad comments by Thomas Hearns on his money problems.

Bingo.

Then go ahead and add wives and ex-wives. Doesn't leave much to the guy getting hit for a living.


You know, that was one of the real early things Lennox Lewis said--and did--and he said it before his like 5th or 6th fight. Great, he recognized a huge problem with boxers and their money. And I had liked the guy before that and knew he had turned down that big offer to turn pro when he was in high school. I knew then the guy was not going to make the mistake of his boxing predecessors and was going to be special. He didn't have just physical tools--like say Ibeabuchi--but smarts to go with it. A guy needs both in the toughest of sports.

 

hey I have feelings like the rest of them and I feel for Hearns, but it also makes me think how could he spend all that money. Duran and Hearns are great fighters, but to lose the money like that is unbelievable. We are talking guys who made 5 million a fight. These are great fighters, not fringe fighters who earned a little cash. And I do feel bad for Hearns that the people he gave his money to don't help him out now that he has no money. But still. 5 million a fight Hearns earned for some fights. Don't think I don't feel for him. One question I wonder about. Why did Leonard and Hagler not have the money problems Hearns and Duran did?

 

Not too long ago someone posted a bit of a breakdown on a fighter's earning potential on the elite level.

I don't remember the percentages exactly, but if a fighter like Hearns earned $40 million dollars gross, then he has to pay the tax bill, the promoters cut, managers cut, cornermen's cut and whatever training expenses. Sparring partners cost, equipment, travel expenses, etc. all eat into the big money.

Now consider that most fighters only have about 5-7 years at the top if they are lucky and retire in their mid to late 30's. That leaves a lot of life to be lived and expenses to be met for many years. Most retired fighters aren't as lucky as guys like Tarver, Jones, Foreman etc. that can step into the broadcasting role and earn money that way.

Most fighters are simply not smart with their money and don't plan for the day they can no longer climb into the ring.

Don't get me wrong, he still earned more than I will in my entire lifetime so I've learned long ago to live within my means. Too bad many of them haven't.

 

The more money you make the more money you can lose. Fighters aren't financial wizzes is it any wonder that half of them lose the money they make it happens with other celebs as well.

 

I'm not going to feel sorry for a guy who blew $40 million.
Even if (worse case scenario) promoters robbed him of $30 mill, he would have blown $10 mill !

It's just stupidity or irresponsible at the least, in anyone's book.
Yes, I'm sure it stems from good-naturedness and the inability to say "no" to friends, but it's irresponsible, it's foolish.
Hangers-on will only hang on if you keep feeding them.

Most of us here would love to have had the chance to earn $40 million and retire young.

 

I dont understand how these guys cant save a little and think about their future. I just read Victor Ortiz is going to use his 2 million dollars to start a fast food chain of taco shops. Just bad decisions. Its very hard for people to put money in the bank and forget about it without seeing something tangible from it, even if its growing and building value.
Its a lot easier to spend a LOT of money too when you can afford to fly private, travel the world first class, live in mansions etc. Been there done that, it goes fast, plus everyone thats close to you thinks they're entitled to your money.
If you dont recognize this and plan for your future, you're in deep ****, because once the money stops and the payments dont, it can eat you up quick, especially for guys like Hearns, who probably continued to live the same lifestyle long after the paydays stopped.

 

10 million dollars may seem like a lot of money but it will go quickly once you buy a million dollar house, a million dollar car and spend a million dollars in expenses every year.

If only the boxers would live modestly and save up the money for later use, but all you need to do is take a look at Evander Holyfield's house as an example. They get accustomed to high living because of the high pay, not acknowledging that it's all the money they will ever make.

The IRS also doesn't have much understanding for the fact that a million dollar payday for a boxer may be equivalent to 5 to 10 years of work.

 

Conservatively speaking you can make about 500K a year off of 10 million sitting in the bank. That leaves you with about 300-325K after taxes. You can live pretty good off of that, especially in the 80's! Money seems to burn a hole through peoples pocket, they cant leave it in the bank. I agree with your points though, Holyfields house is a good example.

 

It sounds like it was Hearns financial advisors/accountants/lawyers who were the big problem and not so much the hangers-on and leeches. If the IRS is involved, apparently his taxes weren't being paid. If he was paying the big shots big money to handle his financial affairs, maybe they were guilty of mishandling things. If so, Hearns should use any money left over from the tax bill to go after those guys. They're probably long gone by now though.

Tommy won't be living high on the hog anymore so he will have to learn how to handle his money better. Interesting that I read SRL's autobiography recently and Leonard claimed Hearns tried to interest him in the 2 of them traveling the country together putting on boxing exhibitions for money. Leonard wasn't interested. BTW, wonder how Leonard has made out financially? He always seemed very business savvy.

 

Can't blame Ray for that one.I think Ray is doing pretty good financially, one of the few that can say they did well.Of course, he had some of the right people around him, and the sense to say no when he needed( as with his former top ten ranked brother Roger when he had a drug addiction
).

 

Sad,Tommy did so much for boxing,relatives will do it!!!

 

This is one sad case indeed. One of the nicest most decent people in such a brutal corrupt game, getting screwed over time and time again. As if the thousands of hard hits he took inside the ring weren't enough. Tommy Hearns already paid his dues and then some more. **** off IRS

 

I hope one day these people can be taken care of and commemorated on the whole for their service.

They may not be fighting our wars like a soldier might, but they're making our lives that much more special and worth fighting for with the passionate application of their brutal art.

 

You know why Floyd is going to have all his money when he is older compared to Hearns and Duran losing theirs? Hearns and Duran at times were reckless in the ring and that probably translates into reckless in life. Leonard fought more cautiously and probably handles his money like that. No one has mentioned that. Those two guys took too many chances which is probably part of their makeup. But you have to sometimes be thrifty when you earn a lot of money in big fights with guys like Leonard and Hagler and Benitez and with each other. You cannot earn a million or 2 million in a big fight and then go buy a mansion since there goes your big payday. Hearns and Duran both had long long careers. Why would they lose all thier money? Hearns fought for 29 years and Duran for 34. Why would they be poor? Because they were reckless with their money, but I do feel sorry for them. Great guys like them should always live a good life after giving so much to boxing. Kind of depressing.

 

Sad but quite common among athletes I believe. Many of the pro athletes end up declaring bankruptcy. Nobody ever taught them how to handle money.