How Much Do Professional Boxers Earn?
How Much Do Professional Boxers Earn?
If you’ve been boxing for a long time, it may have crossed your mind to box professionally. Naturally, you may have wondered how much professional boxers make. I decided to do some research and write a blog post answering this question. So, how much do professional boxers earn? According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median salary for a professional boxer was $51,370 in 2017. Based on this figure, it is clear that the majority of professional boxers do not earn large seven figure salaries similar to the likes of Manny Pacquiao, Floyd Mayweather and the rest of the sports elite.
How Do You Earn Money as a Professional Boxer
Despite the surprisingly low median salary for professional boxers, there are luckily a number of ways fighters can boost their income. Pro boxers don’t only make money from the fights themselves. Continue reading as I discuss exactly how professional boxers earn their money.
Competing in Bouts
There are a few ways one should expect to earn a living as a professional boxer. One of the main ways (an obvious one for many) is through fighting itself or competing in bouts. Fighters earn a split of the ‘fight purse’ for taking part in a bout. The fight purse is the amount of funds that a promoter or promoters pool into an event. You will often hear in fight negotiation news about how fighter A is receiving a 60% cut, while fighter B is receiving a 40% cut. This is an example of a purse split in boxing, where each fighter gets a portion of the purse. Of course once the fight is done, fighters will have to pay for certain expenses like their training fees, management fees, and taxes. The type and amount of fees a fighter will have to pay largely depends on their personal circumstances, but this is just something to consider. Many casual observers of the sport of boxing don’t realize the amount of money fighters have to pay out of pocket as prize fighters.
Sponsorship
Another way fighters earn money is through sponsorship deals and brand ambassador roles. You will notice when you watch a pro boxing match that many fighters have brands and/or logos on their trunks, or perhaps they will wear a branded hat after a fight. These are all calculated moves. It is not an accident that fighters like Mikey Garcia are commonly seen wearing a ‘B&B Plastics’ ball cap when he does a post fight interview. This is by design as B&B Plastics is a long time sponsor of elite boxer Mikey Garcia. How about the luxury watch brand Hublot. There are numerous fighters who have worn shorts with this brand name in bold font, including Gennady Golovkin, Jorge Linares, and Floyd Mayweather to name a few. Speaking of Hublot, this watch maker has also made limited edition Floyd Mayweather and Gennady Golovkin (GGG) variants.
When fighters engage in sponsorship deals they receive rewards (typically monetary) in exchange for representing these brands in the public space… And the more popular the boxer, the better the reward too. If you have built a reputation and sell tickets in your city, expect to have more bargaining power for sponsorship deals.
Fight Bonuses
Another way boxers make more money is through fight bonuses. Fight bonuses are not typical for every professional boxing match, but they do exist. Take the World Boxing Super Series tournament, or WBSS for example. This new tournament was started by a company called Comosa AG. The tournament covers a range of weight classes, where some of the best fighters are put up against each other until the victor is crowned the WBSS Muhammad Ali Trophy champion. In this contest, you don’t only earn pay for competing, you also earn additional bonuses (extra money) when you win.
Fighter Merchandise
Another way can increase their income is through selling merchandise to their fan base. This technique works best when the fighter already is a big draw and has a devoted following. You will often find fighters selling their own branded t-shirts and training gear. Often fighters will use social media applications like instagram to market to their fans and the boxing community.
Betting
While this is a sure-fire way to potentially lose a lot of money, many pro boxers occasionally risk or bet their earnings on fights. Since they are immersed in the sport- many have a tremendous edge and can do well. Of course betting is still very risky whether you are a casual fan of boxing or a seasoned veteran. If you don’t have a great edge, consider studying the art of betting on boxing prior to trying it yourself. Here is a link to Richard Dwyer’s boxing betting guide– I’ve listened to Dwyer on Youtube for many years. He isn’t always correct in his picks- but he definitely understands strategy- and if you want to have success you need to follow a strategy. Here is his e-book. For readers who are interested in sports betting in general, I highly recommend checking out The Whale’s Sports Betting University course linked here.
What Is Required for the Job
In order to be a qualified professional boxer, it is important that you build a solid foundation during your amateur career. This means getting a good amount of amateur bouts (anywhere from 50-200), and enjoying good success. National tournaments like Golden Gloves are a great way to build your skillset and reputation in the boxing community. More importantly, you will be able to challenge yourself in these tournaments and see if you have the skillset to become a pro boxer. In order to compete in amateur contests, you will typically need to get a license from your state or province and pass some medical examinations. Amateur fighting is a great experience for many whether you want to go all the way in boxing or not. You will challenge yourself and learn a very useful skill in boxing along the way.
Job Security
In boxing there is not a lot of job security. Former professional boxer and commentator Paulie Malignaggi typically discusses how fighters need to be prepared for life after boxing. On multiple occasions, Malignaggi has mentioned to reporters how many great fighters he looked up to while he was young have nothing to show for it today. That is why it is important that fighters make the proper investments in the future and ideally have a plan B.
One plan B or exit strategy a lot of fighters take is to become a boxing trainer. Not all pro boxers make great trainers, but many of them do. Freddie Roach for instance is considered one of the best boxing trainers ever, and he had an extensive boxing career. Other notable ex-pro boxers turned trainers are John David Jackson and Buddy McGirt. Amateur and professional boxers can easily transfer their immense knowledge of the sport to training young athletes.
Related Questions
How do you become a professional boxer? After learning the craft and participating in amateur boxing, you will be ready to become a professional boxer. In order to fight in the pro ranks, you will (typically) need to hire a manager to get you involved in bouts. You will also have to get a pro boxing license from one of the commissions you will be fighting under for your bout.
What is the age restriction for being a professional boxer? You must be 18 years old to compete in professional boxing in America. Boxers in America who want to participate in pro boxing prior to turning 18 years old often have their first pro fights in Mexico. For instance, Devin Haney, an up and coming American fighter had a handful of fights in Mexico prior to turning 18.
Courtesy Vic owner of planet boxing and Amazon writer.
