By Robert “Big Moe” Elmore: Since I began writing, I have often found myself trying to find a balance. I often wanted to get my point across without making people mad, but sometimes it just didn’t work out that way. I get people who agree and disagree with me. But that’s good. I understand everything is not to be agreed upon. It makes for good debate.

I believe often times in boxing boxers try to do the same thing. And to be honest, I don’t believe any of them have been successful. Some fighters have been accused at catching another fighter at just the right time or have been criticized for not have the business side of things together. The business side of things is very important, but so is the quality of the opponent.

So where is the balance? I don’t think there is one. But I firmly believe this; either a fighter’s business acumen or skills will be exposed if the fighter is not properly prepared. I’m just not speaking on just speaking on a one fight thing. I’m speaking more of when a fighter career is over as well. I will focus on a couple fighters while mentioning others to get my point across. Let’s start with Sugar Ray Leonard.

I’m not a very big fan of Leonard, but he surely had things together on the business side. He was one of those rare guys that could take the business side, mix with the big opponent, give the fans what they wanted, and often times exceeded the pursues of heavyweights. For example, in his unification bout with Thomas Hearns(the first one), Ray made over 11 million dollars while Hearns only made 5.1 million.

I say only because I believe Hearns could’ve demanded the same money Leonard got because he brought just as much to the table as Leonard did. Now compare that to the money Hagler received against Hearns (5.6 million) and he was the undisputed champion at that time. Compare this also to Mike Tyson’s unification match against James “Bonecrusher” Smith in which he made 1.5 million. In Leonard’s first fight with Duran, Leonard lost the fight, but cleaned up on the financial end.

He made between 7 and 10 million dollars while Duran made 1.5 million. He managed to keep 80 percent of the TV foreign rights and closed circuit money while the promoters Don King and Bob Arum kept only 20 percent. That’s staggering. No fighter, promoted by Arum or King to my recollection, has ever kept 80 percent of anything of this nature. Even in the rematch Leonard made 1 million less than Duran (Ray made 7 million while Duran made 8 million). Now compare that to both Hearns and Hagler fights against Duran. Tommy made 1.8 million and Hagler made 5 million. And even when Ray wasn’t champion he still made significantly more than his opponents (see Leonard vs. Terry Norris and Hector Camacho). In 1982, Larry Holmes took on Gerry Cooney. Cooney was pushed into that fight by the public. He reaped the benefits financially (10 million dollars), but his skill did not come with him. Before Holmes, Cooney fights last on average of 4 rounds. He even admitted in Legendary Nights, that as the fight pushed into the middle rounds his mind went into shock. Holmes on the other end reaped the benefits and his skill came along.

Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao are two of boxing’s biggest stars today. While Floyd’s style is boring to some, his pay days exceed his boredom. He has set and broken guaranteed purses and pay per view sales and made highest paid athlete in the world. While Pacquiao, the more excited fighter, has failed to make his pay days match his excitement. To save time, I will use some common opponents to compare the two. Against Shane Mosley Floyd guaranteed money was 22.5 million and 1.4 million in pay per view sales. Pac made 6 million and 1.3 million pay per view sales. Against Miguel Cotto; Floyd made a record setting 32 million and 1.5 million in pay per view sales to Pac’s 7.4 and 1.2 million in pay per view sales. And most recently Floyd made an earth shattering 41.5 million and 2.2 million buys against Saul Alvarez while Pac’s last outing was 18 million upfront and career low 475,000 buys. There has been this argument that Pac deserves a 50/50 split with Floyd should they fight. The argument is Pac was crowned fighter of the decade and 8 division champion.

If that’s the case, he should be making fighter of the decade and 8 division money. This is not a knock. Floyd is only a 5 division champion yet, he has surrounded himself with a great team and is repeating the benefits. As a stated above, there is no striking a good balance from a fans point of view. From a fighters stand point, they firmly believe they are striking a balance. How many times have we’ve seen our heroes put it all on the line in the ring and when they hang up the gloves, have nothing to show for it but wins and knockouts? Honestly, I’m glad the fight purses have gotten bigger. Back in Sugar Ray Robinson’s day, they fought 4 or 5 times a month because the money was smaller. Hopefully, these future fighters can match their fighting skills with their business acumen.