When Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk square off on Saturday, it will not just be for the undisputed heavyweight championship of the world, but also for riches beyond the dreams of most people.
Usyk reportedly will take home somewhere in the region of $30 million, while Fury co-promoter Bob Arum has said:
“If you told Tyson Fury that he's going to make $100 million dollars, he would really be upset because he thinks, and I think he’s right, that he's going to make a lot more.”
While top-tier boxers rake in millions, a new study by the UCLA Latino Policy & Politics Institute highlights the financial struggles of those at the bottom. The study, "Down But Not Out: Labor Struggles for Professional Boxers" in California’s Ring, focuses on boxers – particularly Latino and Latina fighters – in California. From 2017 to 2022, about 14 percent of all boxing cards in the United States were held in California, with 49 percent of the boxers on those cards being of Latino descent. Despite the glamour of high-profile bouts, 84 percent of fights in California during the study period were four-, six-, or eight-round matches, with median compensation ranging from $1,500 for four rounds to $7,000 for eight rounds. This annual income is less than the minimum wage earnings in California.
Lead author Rudy Mondragón of UCLA’s Institute for Research on Labor & Employment explains that these figures overstate the actual income for most boxers:
“They don't reflect the 10 percent that goes to their trainer, the 10 percent that goes to their manager, the cost of their training camp – which could be anywhere from $200 to $2,000,” he says.
Boxers often work additional jobs or receive financial support from family to cover costs like rehabilitation and physical therapy. As independent contractors, they lack the safety nets provided by federal, state, and local labor standards, leaving them vulnerable.
The study makes several recommendations to improve the welfare of lower-tier boxers. One suggestion is increasing California’s $100-per-round minimum payment to $375 per round, ensuring that the average pay of $1,500 for a four-round contest becomes the minimum purse. Another recommendation is boosting the cap on the amount set aside for boxers’ pensions, from $4,600 to $200,000 per event. The study also advocates for the inclusion of financial literacy education as part of the licensing process for professional boxers.
Mondragón emphasizes the importance of viewing boxers not just as entertainers but as workers who deserve better protections and compensation.
“I want this policy brief to really get out the message that these are workers at the end of the day. They’re laboring in very risky work to put on entertaining fights at the local level and in the big arenas."