Current boxers, at least the bigger names, aren’t going to be thrilled with the leaked purses reportedly associated with Dana White and Turki Alalshikh’s TKO Boxing venture.
According to a Boxing Scene report, fighters who sign with TKO will be subject to a pay structure that is fantastic for young, unproven fighters. However, it won’t be attractive to the top guys like Gervonta Davis, Canelo Alvarez, etc.
Alalshikh said the article was “factually inaccurate,” but it’s unclear which aspects of the information are incorrect.
Here’s what the Boxing Scene piece says about the pay scale, which is the piece that has everyone in an uproar:
“The contract stipulates that purses will be increased based on the fighters’ ability to crack the top 10 of ‘the company’ and climb the rankings,” per the Boxing Scene article.
- $20,000 for a 10-round bout by an unranked fighter.
- $50,000 when ranked by “the company” at No. 5 to No. 10.
- $125,000 when ranked by the company at No. 3 or No. 4.
- $375,000 when challenging for the “company” championship.
- $750,000 when defending the “company” championship.
“The fighters who join commit to a three-year term following their first bout and must stay on board for two years following their signing, described as the ‘effective date’ in the contract.”
This means that for the first three years of a fighter’s contract with TKO, they will have exclusive rights to his in-ring endeavors. This will also likely include likeness rights for video games and other products, which will be very similar to what we see with the UFC.
During this time, TKO is likely going to heavily invest in marketing and promoting the fighter’s story while likely also giving them training access to the Performance Institute and other training help.
Because the TKO boxing league isn’t expected to start until 2026, the powers that be have time to scout talent and fighters with the kind of story they can sell to the public. Because it’s almost certain the promotion won’t be able to snag the biggest names, they will need to build these fighters themselves. Expect TKO to lean heavily on influencers to grow the brand overall and each fighter individually.
According to Boxing Scene, this verbiage is in the contract:
“The Company shall guarantee boxer the opportunity to participate in bouts every five months during the term commencing with the first bout, and shall make good-faith efforts to offer boxer the opportunity to participate in four bouts during the first year.”
TKO seems to realize that they will need their roster to remain active so that they can increase their exposure. However, there is one piece of information in the piece that not enough people are discussing.
“When boxer participates in a bout which is the main event of a company event and distributed on pay-per-view in the U.S., the parties shall agree on a guaranteed purse and/or a net-profit participation.”
There are a few things here. One, TKO and perhaps even the UFC aren’t abandoning the pay-per-view model just yet. Two, there is a vision for the top fighters from TKO graduating to a point where they earn more than the aforementioned pay scale.
“If company secures opportunities for boxer to participate on third-party events [e.g., Riyadh Season events], boxer shall be entitled to 90 percent of the fee paid to the company for boxer’s participation.”
Conceptually, I don’t hate this model. If I were Gervonta Davis, I’d hate it, but the fact is, most fighters aren’t Tank. Most fighters are guys and girls who’d love an opportunity to fight for a machine that promotes them and rewards them for winning.
It sounds like TKO could be that kind of an organization. If this model turns out to be closer to truth than fiction, the key will be getting the public to care about the fighters. Color me intrigued and optimistic.
