Boxing Purses: Definition and How They Are Determined

Professional boxing matches frequently involve discussions surrounding the ‘purse’ available. This term refers to the cumulative sum of money allocated for the boxers’ compensation. For instance, the reported prize money for the Usyk v Fury fight scheduled for Saturday is approximately £150m ($190m). In championship bouts sanctioned by a specific body, the promoters representing the boxers typically reach a consensus on the distribution of earnings. Customarily, the reigning champion receives a greater share of the total revenue. Should an agreement between the two parties prove elusive, the matter may proceed to a “purse bid.” This mechanism allows any promoter interested in staging the fight to participate. Any promoter officially registered can submit a bid to acquire the rights to the match and its accompanying undercard. The promoter offering the highest “purse bid” is granted the right to host the fight, contingent on providing a deposit prior to its commencement. In 2015, when Tyson Fury was slated to challenge Wladimir Klitschko as a mandatory contender for the WBA belt, the representatives for both fighters were unable to concur on the purse division. Consequently, the WBA mandated a purse bid for the fight, inviting proposals from other promoters. Shortly thereafter, both teams successfully reached an agreement. For the controversial 2024 bout between YouTuber Jake Paul and former world champion Mike Tyson, the exact purse remained confidential. Nevertheless, reports indicated an approximate value of $60m (£47.9m), with two-thirds of this amount reportedly allocated to Paul. Although a purse fundamentally represents prize money, its distribution to the participants is determined prior to the declaration of a fight’s victor. Frank Smith, CEO of Matchroom Boxing, informed BBC Sport: “Purse bids are great in many ways, because it shows the true value of a fight. There have been times where promoters have promoted fighters and they haven’t agreed terms with their own fighters, gone to purse bids and it’s proven that the offer that was being made was fair and right on the basis of what the market was saying.” He added that “various income streams” contribute to the purse, including “ticket sales, pay-per-view purchases and other sponsorship and broadcast revenue.” The streaming service Netflix, which hosted the Tyson v Paul fight, reported that viewing figures reached a peak of 65 million concurrent streams. No. The location of the fight dictates various taxes that must be paid. Subsequently, each fighter allocates a percentage to their manager or adviser, followed by payments to the promoter. These expenditures can account for up to 50% of a fighter’s total earnings. Additional costs include remuneration for trainers and cut men, alongside any other expenses a fighter might incur during their fight preparation. It is crucial to note that while prominent figures such as Fury and, more recently, Paul, garner attention for competing for purses valued in millions of pounds, this financial scale is not representative of the typical boxing career. In the UK, professional boxers at the outset of their careers can anticipate earning between £650 and £2,600 per fight, or between £3,250 and £6,500 per fight for those in the mid-range, all prior to accounting for expenses. Smith stated: “Boxing, for 90% of the participants, is a very hard business to be involved in without having some kind of other job. The money is very difficult at the lower end of the scale and it takes a lot of work and effort to get to the heights of what we see from people who have become pay-per-view stars.”