Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder are both going to pocket over $25m (£19.3m) from their rematch for Wilder’s WBC heavyweight title on Saturday night.
That is a minimum figure for both fighters, with additional earnings from pay-per-view buys being added on top of that. Fury’s American promoter, Bob Arum, is confident the rematch will do over two million pay-per-view buys and that should result in the Gypsy King earning ‘well over $40million (£33m).’
ESPN report, as per the Nevada State Athletic Commission, that the two fighters will make at least $25m (£19.3m) on Saturday night, which will be the biggest payday of both of their careers.
The Bronze Bomber and Gypsy King will be hoping the bout sells well on PPV to earn extra cash, and Arum is bullish on reaching the two million mark.
Only four boxing matches in history have sold two million pay-per-views, all of which involved Floyd Mayweather, so it would be some achievement, but Arum is confident. ‘I really believed when I found out early on, before we even had an announcement, how FOX and ESPN were gonna do this, that’s why I predicted two million,’ said the veteran promoter.
‘Now to predict two million, if this was back in the old HBO and Showtime days, that would’ve been crazy. But because of those two networks, I always thought we had a shot to equal or exceed two million buys. And I’m now, more than ever, confident. ‘I’ve talked to Frank Warren, who’s the co-promoter with Tyson Fury, and he believes the English pay-per-view, even at four in the morning, will be one million. ‘If the pay-per-view hit two million here they would each get, I don’t know what Wilder would get, but my guy would get well over $40million (£33m).’
Boxing’s biggest-selling pay-per-views Floyd Mayweather vs Manny Pacquaio – 4.6m Floyd Mayweather vs Conor McGregor – 4.3m Floyd Mayweather vs Oscar de la Hoya – 2.4m Floyd Mayweather vs Canelo Alvarez – 2.2m If it gets anywhere near two million, it will be a monumental improvement from the first clash between the pair, which sold just 325,000 buys in America and around 450,000 in the UK.
However, many pay-per-views the fight sells, Wilder insists it is him that people are pressing the buy button for. The American insists he has made Fury the star he is today, bringing him back from his time away from boxing which saw him struggle with mental health problems, cast weight gain and drug abuse. ‘Don’t you ever forget that when I found you, you were strung out on coke. You were like a big house, contemplating killing yourself,’ Wilder told Fury at the pre-fight press conference.
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‘Don’t you ever forget who brought you to big-time boxing. ‘I brought you back, dragged you back, I put food on your table for your family to eat and I’m doing it again for a second time. ‘I’m the one who sells the pay-per-view and tickets. They come to see me.’