Is boxing a poor man's sport ?

Isnt it the same with every industry?

99% of people who play music never make any real money.

Most actors never make enough money to do it full time.

99.999% of people who play soccer every weekend are amateurs.

 

Well...it's a lot like other sports. Only the top superstars really get paid a lot (or in other sports, the top teams). Take the NBA for example. The top famous teams get paid huge amounts of money, including the bench players. But the smaller lesser-known teams in other basketball leagues that aren't so famous (I can't even name any off the top of my head) get pretty crummy paychecks.
The issue with the payments, like Kovalev's payment for beating Hopkins, is that the fighters themselves are manipulated into having no choice but to give up portions of their checks before the fights even happen. Especially because it's not a team sport, it's hard to negotiate against these terms...
So yes, it sucks, but I wouldn't call it a "poor man's sport" per se. There's just a lot of **** that needs to get fixed in the background.

 

Shouldn't the Mexicans climbing up and trimming the Palm trees in the backyards of Beverly Hills mansion be rewarded since they risk their lives and health?

The answer is supply and demand.

How much supply is there for tree climbing Mexians? Almost endless. So unfortunately they earn next to nothing.

Now let's go on the other side of the globe. Truck drivers in Australia driving iron and copper ore from the mines to the ports earn around $180,000 a year. That is ridiculously high, but it's a sign of low labor supply vs. very high demand.

You never get compensated handsomely just because your job is dangerous. You get high compensation if there is a lack of supply and/or there is very high demand -- ideally both at the same time.

In boxing, there is a very high number of relatively skilled fighters who would happily put their lives and health on the line for $10,000 per fight. It's great money in their eyes. No boxer would ever say "I want $50k extra, because it's risky". They know there's too many competing fighters wanting a slice of the same pie.

 

The NBA is a TERRIBLE example. The NBA has what's called a SALARY CAP. This means that it is capped how much a team can pay its players. As a result ALL TEAMS pay their players a total amount that is similar.... Also the LOWEST paid NBA players make over $400,000 per year before taxes... All travel expenses and hotel etc is paid for... Sure they probably pay a mangager some money, but it is most likely less than 10% so they would walk away with over 250k per year as the worst NBA player in the league...

 

This is a good point. Although a lot of how much you get paid in boxing has to do with your power to draw in a crowd. That's why worse fighters often make much more money than more talented counter-parts.

Example Rigondeaux barely makes anything. There is only 1 of him, but the demand to see someone like that is incredibly low. However, if he spoke english, had a charismatic personality, I bet his demand would sky rocket. This is why many fighters are being taught English/Spanish (Paulie M. is learning Spanish). Speaking these languages can expose you to many boxing fans and give you a bigger market.

 

Yup, co-sign all of this.

 

He only gets 25%
:-(

 

You really think theres people out there that dont know that being punched in the head is bad for them?

If they've been fighting for a while, they're absolutely aware that fighting is not good for your health.

As for not being paid enough...who defines "enough".

They either get paid what they get paid or they dont get paid. Nobody is forcing them to fight. A guy offers them x amount and if they dont want it, they dont fight.

There isnt some abitrar up on high with an umlimited supply of money that decides what each fighter should make.

A fight night only brings in so much money and the fights for the night need to fit within that budget with enough left over for the promoter to make a profit.

If the promoter cant make a profit, he wont put the fight night on

 

Yup.
The tax man takes about 35%
Manager takes about 10%
Trainer takes about 10%

Then you have to include payments for S+C coach, training facilities maybe a chef etc.

Fighters usually only get about 1/3 of the purse you hear in the news

 

Of course I answered your point.

I just told you there are thousands of Mexicans climbing palm trees for $5 an hour. There jobs is far more dangerous than professional boxing.

The majority of these guys have no health insurance (unlike professional boxers) and get zero treatment if they break their bones (or worse).

There is your answer: Hazardous jobs don't always pay well!

 

Which sounds "bad" if you think their purse is a salary. But it's not. It's a business income, not a salary. Boxing is not a salaried job where you get paid to show up in the morning and go home at 5. Once you realize that then a 33% margin on their revenues sounds not bad at all, but rather normal.

Just like a music performer may have an gross income of $10 million a year from ticket sales and music downloads. But "only" banks away $2 million because the rest goes to taxes, employees, advisers, managers, sales agents (tickets) etc.