Kovalev’s Meager Payday
It’s a sad state that, in this day and age, fighters like Kovalev continue to get short shrift on the financial side…
In a surprising revelation, yesterday boxing media learned that unified light heavyweight champion Andre “S.O.G.” Ward (31-0, 15 KOs) is making a guaranteed $6.5 million for his fight on Saturday, Ward vs. Kovalev 2: The Rematch. The challenger, Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev (30-1-1, 26 KOs) is reportedly making only a percentage of the take from the fight (ticket sales + Pay-Per-View sales), with no guarantee.
While Kovalev continues to blame Ward for his woes, the truth is no one forced him to sign this deal. It makes sense that, at this point, the challenger would blame his opponent for his financial issues, since there’s nothing more he can do about making what is sure to be an extremely meager payday. But Kovalev’s manager and promoter are truly the ones at fault, since it is their job to look out for their fighter and ensure he makes as much money as possible. It’s not Ward’s responsibility or that of his team to look out for their opponent.
It’s a surprising and downright sad situation for Kovalev, considering the first fight between him and Ward only sold 160,000 Pay-Per-View buys. While one can hope that the rematch sells better, it’s a sad state that, in this day and age, fighters like Kovalev continue to get short shrift from their teams on the financial side.
Fighters put their lives on the line every time they climb between the ropes. The least they should expect to receive for their troubles is a decent payday since there are no guarantees in this harsh sport. Let’s hope that Sergey learns from this experience and makes some changes in his future contracts.
Update: Kovalev also skipped a a round of high level media interviews on Thursday. This put the onus all on Andre Ward to do his part and speak to the media for about 45 minutes, since this was an obligation fighters had agreed to beforehand.
Follow Caryn A. Tate on Twitter@carynatate
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nonprophet 05:51am, 06/19/2017
Not so, Sean. Keep it real. Kovalev is a true racist thug and deserves just what he got….an ass whipping from a black man.
Sean Matheny 02:07pm, 06/17/2017
Well said Irish!! Kovalev is true warrior and deserves better!!!
Irish Frankie Crawford Beat Saijo aka Gimpel 05:59pm, 06/16/2017
Not likely…..but even with 200,000 PPV….and a sold out Events Center…. Kovalev will be lucky to get $2,000,000…. less expenses…. of course. It boggles the mind to think that McGregor, who’s never had a sanctioned boxing match is looking at a possible $100,000,000 payout for getting whiplash from Floyd’s sneak right for a round or two at the most.