Arguably the top earner in Boxing today, the opinion of Canelo Alvarez is certainly important in the debate over Pay disparity in the two most popular forms of fighting. In fact, Canelo is set to make a healthy $60 million for his trilogy match against Gennady Golovkin this weekend. Even his rival, Golovkin, will raise more than $45 million for this fight.
Canelo is currently in a 3-fight deal with Eddie Hearn and Matchroom Boxing that will guarantee a total payout of at least $160M. In fact, this is where most Canelo fights normally earn a higher purse than the total payouts of all fighters in a UFC PPV.
In a recent appearance on GQ sport, canelo alvarez “ will appear onActually, IThe section where athletes answer fan questions over the internet. Most of the questions were about his boxing career and his upcoming fight with him. GGGOne of the previous questions focused on the pay disparity between the two sports.
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Canelo Alvarez thinks all boxers ‘win differently’
Boxing is a free market sport that was agreed at the turn of the century that there could not be a single league with all the rules. Therefore, the United States government stepped in and passed the Ali Act or Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act, which protected the interests of the fighters and also helped them avoid exploitation by their supporters/administrators.
“I think in general Boxers don’t win the same thing, They don’t all win the same thing, each wins differently, but yes, I think Boxers earn more. I don’t know why, I really don’t know why, I think there’s only one organizer, one company in MMA that I think controls them more, so I think that’s why” said Canelo in her native tongue.
“Warriors know why they get paid less, I don’t think there is a fighter asking this question”, aforementioned canelo for switching to English. While some of the answer is correct, the main factor comes down to bidding. In boxing, the two organizers must continue to offer competitive bags for fighters to accept whatever seems appropriate.
Also Read: “He controls them more” Canelo gives Dana White a veiled slap when talking about MMA-Boxing pay disparity
Compare that to MMA, or rather the UFC (which holds 85-90% of the market) and fighters have no choice but to comply with structured pay scales. While in the past fighters always had the option to compete for PRIDE FC or many other organizations not yet taken over by the UFC, in today’s time the options are limited and hardly any more convenient.
While other organizations may offer a larger share of the revenue for wallets, the UFC isn’t worth much without brand awareness.
Even putting that aside, the sponsorship money only the boxers made could compete with that of the MMA fighters’ total wallets. After the UFC introduced the Uniform Kits under the reebok deal, another way of earning was taken from the fighters. For example, GGG, who will be headlining the boxing event this weekend alongside Canelo Alvarez, has earned more than 2.3M in shorts for DIOR sponsorship. the last two Canelo fights.
Compare that to Khabib Numragomedov, who won $2M in total beating Conor McGregor at UFC 229, the promotion’s best-selling PPV to date, and you realize that no single factor can be blamed for the pay gap.
Also Read: “The goal is to end his career” – Canelo Alvarez makes a bold statement ahead of his fight against Gennady Golovkin
