Boxing

How much money will Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk make for their fight in Saudi Arabia?

The WBO, WBC and WBA heavyweight titles are on the line for Saturday’s fight, along with a substantial financial package.

Hamad I MohammedREUTERS

There’s glory, revenge and the small matter of three heavyweight title belts on the line this evening, as Tyson Fury takes on Oleksander Usyk in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Usyk secured a narrow points victory in the first meeting between the two veteran fighters back in May but Fury has not had to wait long for a shot at reclaiming the WBO, WBC and WBA heavyweight titles. There’s also a big financial incentive for both fighters.

TalkSport reports that the total prize purse for the Fury-Usyk rematch will be $191 million, roughly $56 million more than their first fight earlier this year brought in.

In the first fight Fury took a 70/30 split of the purse. However Usyk only agreed to those terms on the understanding that he would take the majority share of any subsequent fight between the two if he won the first. As such, Usyk looks set to take the lion’s share of the $191 million from Saturday’s rematch.

What is the biggest payout in boxing history?

After winning the first fight, Usyk is set to earn well in excess of $100 million from the rematch on Saturday. It would rank among the biggest payouts in boxing history, an astonishing nine-figure sum for a single fight.

However there are a small group of fighters who have topped that. The highly-publicised fights between Floyd Mayweather and both Manny Pacquiao and Conor McGregor brought in huge amount of interest and money, with the victorious Mayweather coming out as the big winner.

For a long time Mayweather was the biggest draw in boxing and he took a massive payout from both the Pacquiao and McGregor fights, winning both on his way to a 50-0-0 professional record. The long-anticipated Macquiao fight in 2015 earnt Mayweather $250 million, which was then topped by the $280 million he bagged against McGregor in 2017. Pacquiao and McGregor didn’t do too badly either, respectively earning $150 million and $130 million.

Unsurprisingly, Mayweather holds a number of record for boxing earnings. Throughout his stellar career Mayweather has generated 24 million PPV buys and $1.67 billion in revenue, topping the Forbes list of highest-paid athletes in 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015.

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