Groves not happy with 15% purse cut for Froch rematch

By Boxing News - 02/01/2014 - Comments

groves563257By Scott Gilfoid: George Groves (19-1, 15 KO’s) is reportedly asking the International Boxing Federation for a bigger cut than the 15 percent of the purse that the IBF says that Groves has coming for a rematch against IBF/WBA super middleweight champion Carl Froch (32-2, 23 KO’s). By the IBF ruling, Groves deserves only 15 percent of the purse due to him not being ranked #1 by the IBF. Groves if currently ranked #6 by the IBF.

If he had the #1 ranking, he’d be able to get a 25% purse split. But with the way it is now, Froch will hog the purse with him getting 85% of the money. That wouldn’t be an issue if Groves wasn’t bringing in so many fans of his own due to his huge popularity. Without Groves, Froch’s fight would likely bring in a considerably smaller purse unless he faced someone popular like Andre Ward or Andre Dirrell in rematches in the UK.

The Froch-Groves II rematch is expected to have an overall purse of 10 million pounds. If Groves is only going to get a tiny sliver of the pot despite him contributing a significant amount of the fan interest, then it’s hardly worth it for him to take the fight.

“Right now the IBF have ordered the rematch to take place,” Eddie Hearn, the promoter for Froch, said. “They have ordered an 85-15 split and George Groves has appealed that split. We have until February the 4th to come to some sort of agreement or the fight will go out to purse bids. So if the Groves thing drags out, we could be forced into looking into the [Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.] option.”

Well, if Hearn doesn’t want to bump up Groves’ pay to the 25% level, then I don’t see any reason why Groves should agree to the measly 15% that the IBF has for a fighter not ranked #1 by their organization. That’s not a good deal for Groves, because he’s probably bringing about half the fans for the Froch rematch, and only getting 15% of the pot. Heck, even 25% is too low for what Groves brings to the table with fans. That’s an incredibly poor deal for Groves even if he only gets 25%. But if he can only get 15% of the cut due to the IBF rulings, then Groves needs to stand firm until the fight goes to purse bids.

If Froch wants to vacate his IBF title and go fight Chavez Jr. then that’s on him. Groves could then fight one of the next highest contenders for the vacant strap. Brandon Gonzales is currrently ranked #3 by the IBF, and Maksim Vlasov at #4 IBF. Groves can beat one of those guys, and then have the IBF title in his possession when Froch gets done with the Chavez Jr. fight.

Groves would then be in a much better position to get a respectable purse of say 50 percent. The difference in cash between 50% and 15% would be huge, which is why Groves shouldn’t agree with the 15% offered to him now. Let Froch vacate, and go fight Chavez Jr. Chances are, Froch will get whipped by Chavez Jr., and he’ll come back to the UK licking his wounds, and no longer have the WBA title in his possession. Groves could then have his way with the negotiations with Froch.



Comments are closed.