Fighter pay has long been a highly discussed topic in the UFC, with some questioning the current pay model is fair for the kind of physical punishment fighters take. And now that UFC President Dana White has gotten involved in boxing with the newly formed Zuffa Boxing promotion, WBC Lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson believes that fighter pay could also quickly become an issue in White’s new brainchild promotion.
Zuffa Boxing, which came to be after a highly publicized partnership was announced between TKO Holdings Group and Saudi Arabia back in March, marks White’s first venture into the sport of boxing. The debut of the promotion is set to come in September for the super fight between Terence Crawford and Canelo Alvarez, which will be streamed on Netflix.
At the highest level of boxing, the sport has always featured higher payouts than what is typically seen in MMA. Conor McGregor famously earned $100 million for his boxing match against Floyd Mayweather in 2017, far higher than any amount he ever received for a fight in the UFC.
During an appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show on Tuesday, Shakur Stevenson discussed White’s venture into the boxing world, warning him that the fighter pay typically given to UFC fighters won’t be enough to entice him, or other elite-level boxers, to partner with Zuffa Boxing.
“For them to come into the business is big,” said Stevenson. “Because the WWE, (and UFC) have been around for so long. They know what they are doing. The only thing with Dana… I like Dana, you know, Dana is a great guy. I’ve actually never got the chance to meet him. But I kind of watch everything he says. The only thing I’ll say is, just pay me, man. I’m not trying to get a pay cut. I know these guys are trying to bring the pay back down. I’m not with that.”
“You’re not going to fight for a 50 and 50?” asked Helwani. “You know, a 50K (to show) and 50K (to win)?”
“No, hell no,” replied Stevenson. “You can’t bring somebody a certain type of money and bring them back down. I disagree with that. You want guys to all fight these fights that are 50-50 fights. If you want them to get into the ring… If you tell them they aren’t going to make a certain amount of money if they don’t win the fight, they are not going to get into the ring. It’s gonna make chaos and they are not going to fight each other.”
Stevenson raises a fair point. World champion boxers like Stevenson are accustomed to a certain level of purse, regardless of the end result of their fight. And chances are, if their demands aren’t met by White and other executives at Zuffa Boxing, they will simply opt not to work with them.
Interestingly, it seems like White may realize that his pay structure in the UFC may not exactly work with Zuffa Boxing. According to reports, the upcoming Terence Crawford-Canelo Alvarez fight in September will feature a $200 million purse combined for the two boxers, with Alvarez taking home $150 million and Crawford taking home $50 million for the fight.