Here is my question... We're in an age when there's a multitude of fight that we boxing fans all want to see.. but for whatever reason the fight doesn't come off, seeming more often than not that a purse split can't be agreed upon. The thread about Mayweather and the negotiations with Winky back in '05 got me thinking, they we're so close seemingly to making a deal, the difference being Winky wanted a 50/50 split (at that time seeming very reasonable as Floyd's status wasn't as established) yet Floyd insisted on 55/45. So the question is why if fighters really want to fight each other, and the purse is the only thing preventing the fight from going through, can't they do a split based on winning the fight ? Like do 40/40 and the winner takes the remaining 20 ? Would this really be that hard to agree upon ? Especially since the top guys have millions in the bank already. We'd probably get some better fights out of it too.
I agree, in fact, it should be mandantory that a % of the whole purse goes to the winner, would prevent some guy's just coming in for the paycheck
Probably one reason is their hasn't even been an attempt to clean up the crappy and crooked judging decisions that permeated boxing since day 1. So as a fighter why would you hold your money in the hands of corrupt unprofessional judges which can just lead to another problem in the negotiations which is where the fight's going to be held. For instance, you go to one guy's hometown and he stands a better chance of getting a decision deserved or not. No thanks, if I were a fighter the only way I'd do an extra pay off is if it's done by getting a KO.
Roy and Hopkins have a bonus in their contracts, don't they? In a perfect world, it would be that way, but most of the time, the guy that brings all the money to the table wants....all the money.
This is in general a good idea, and is a common sense approach to getting more fights done because the upside of winning would be EXTREMELY lucrative. Fighters could actually earn MORE than they even come to the table asking for... just by winning the fight! In fact, in theory it could also make fights far more exciting when a fighter has only 6 minutes to do something to prevent them from losing 10% or 20% of the purse. That kind of coin can motivate a man. But of course since it passes the logic test, it will fail to ever be implemented in boxing. You can see some of the reason why in the very paragraph you wrote. You have a sizeable amount of high level fighters like Floyd willing to crush major fight deals for one dime too little in their purse (like w/Winky). I don't think in my lifetime of watching boxing I have ever seen so many "nobody scares me", "I take all comers", "I'm the best in the world" folks so INCREDIBLY fearful of fighting each other. Floyd epitomizes this sort of thing, so I will use him as my example. Why would Floyd EVER, in a MILLION years accept a fight against any sort of meaningful opponent where a large part of the purse goes to the winner? The guy is ALREADY too scared and too careful to fight anyone worthwhile even with guaranteed money, and he will literally bail out of mega-fights for 5% of a purse. Why in the world would he EVER risk 10% or 20%?? Guys who would agree to that sort of an arrangement are HUNGRY, they are CONFIDENT, they are willing to TAKE SOME RISKS, and they must be willing to fight for reasons OTHER than just SOLELY the money... reasons like proving they can beat the very best.. establishing a legacy... earning respect and proving to themselves what they are made of. Well these guys just about don't exist in boxing anymore, in large part because they don't HAVE to. Floyd can go right on fighting little guys at the end of their career, or washed up no hopers, or paper champions, or maybe even rematch all of the above. And he can argue over 5% or refuse to fight, he can refuse to fight one guy because of steroids and another because he's disrespectful and another because he turned down a fight 10 years ago... or just retire when it gets too dangerous. Floyd can do that shit and make millions. Why would he ever man up and sign a winner-take-bonus sort of contract? And he's not the only one, there are plenty of others like him to varying degrees. And that is why I think this sort of thing never happens and likely never will. It's because more often than not, the guys who are fighting don't really give a shit about proving they are the best - they care about preserving their record and making as much as obscenely possible in the biggest mismatches they can still shove down the public's throat without them puking. "Legacy don't pay bills!". You tell 'em Floyd!
