By Allen Hmiel: Yes, I know Manny makes millions and Klitschkos do also and Floyd makes mucho cash when he fights every two years. But the other fighters currently fighting do they really make enough to sustain them for life? How many fighters really collect at the box office gate and also the cable TV premium?

Vegas seems to not want fighters outside of the big names all 4-5 of them who would bring in the betting public and fans. HBO and Showtime seem to be getting more and more select on who they feature.

Today’s boxers are surrounded with their entourage’s and management teams and other leeches who seem to suck the cash out of the fighters purses. How did Tyson blow through $400 million and Evander Holyfield $250 million? Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini made $12 million in his career and was able to keep most of it through honest management.

Look at the expenses today’s current fighters incur. There are the fighters managers, the trainers the seconds, the cutmen, and the promoters. Then there are the friends and families and leeches all with their hands out. Then most importantly there is the U.S government who willing sucks up to 40% of a fighters purse. Figure in training expenses, hospitalization costs, food, travel, publicity agent,sanctioning fees,disability insurance, financial accountants and advisers and you have a beautiful funnel sucking the money right from the fighter down the pipe of life’s current living costs and expenses.
Say a fighter gets $300,000 for a fight and figure $90,000(30%)goes off the top to Uncle Sam.The remaining $210,000 goes out to the trainers cut usually 10% and the promoter usually 10% that is another $60,000 off the top or half of the purse. Figure in the seconds cut and the cut man, accountant and the training camp expenses another $30,000. When the fighter pays off his family living expenses mortgage, wife kids etc and if he fights only once a year he probably ends up with $10,000 a month. Not even considering that he would be thinking of setting up a post retirement living investment policy. I don’t want to get into fighters being divorced, garnished wages, back taxes, lawsuits and mismanagement troubles. Or injuries that sideline a guy for a while.

Today’s fighters in the US are not selling tickets. Ward cannot draw outside of Oakland, Dirrell couldn’t sell at home, Alexander and Bradley are fighting in Detroit in a huge vacant cavern which seats 90,000 but will sell probaby 3500 tickets. Who would buy a ticket to see Tavoris Cloud or Steve Cunningham? No heavyweights sell anything and Kelly Pavlik, Cornelious Brundrage and Andre Berto couldn’t sell out the local Holiday Ballroom. Sure some fighters make more than a million dollars a fight but there aren’t that many of them and they fight maybe once every year or so.

Plus most of todays fighters don’t have the people around them thinking of their long term benefit and what happens to the fighters 20 years after they retire. You have Joe Frazier one of the greatest champs living above a small gym sleeping on a cot. The papers occasionally mention a deceased ex champ passing away broke. Benny Briscoe maintained a full time job throughout his stellar career with the city of Philadelphia. Most fighters today and even from yesterday never thought the final bell would ever ring on their careers and the cash machine would continue to spit out checks forever. For every Sugar Ray Leonard there are 100 fighters who are not making it. I read last year where Tommy Hearns had a huge yard sale selling everything he owned.

I saw where Aaron Pryor is struggling in Cincinnati trying to get by. Someone and this won’t happen, because boxing doesn’t have leadership or a governing body and is basically rudderless and out of control should stand up and try and set up a panel designed to help fighters manage their money and retirements. Fighters today are not Ivy league graduates but street kids who grew up tough without the benefits of a high learning experience or sound financial management and investing expertise. They live for the moment and the current spotlight fame showers them with.

Sadly the few fighters at the top reap the cash and the majority of the others fight for enough to get by year to year. The future for most retired fighters is not pleasant or rosy but a gloom filled life of empty pockets and shattered dreams along with the great memories if they can remember them.