eBusiness Weekly
Heavyweight champions Tyson Fury & Anthony Joshua have signed a two-fight deal, but what do the financials tell us?
After months of frustration due to prolonged negotiations between rival promoters, rival networks, and rival fighters, heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, who last fought more than a year ago, appeared to grow frustrated last month.
Fury told iFL TV that he had stopped training, started drinking, and wasn’t eating:
“I have stopped training at the moment, I am on holiday. I am drinking anything between eight, ten, 12 pints of lager a day at the minute…But I am not eating so I am getting my calories through alcohol. I have trained and trained and trained with no progress so I am now a man of leisure.”
Perhaps that was just a fun negotiating tactic because a contract for a two-fight deal between heavyweight champions Tyson Fury & Anthony Joshua was finalised just days later.
Why did the details of the fight take almost a year to negotiate?
Because Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua are set to clash with all four world titles on the line, with the winner becoming undisputed heavyweight champion of the world. That has never happened in the four-belt era, and the last undisputed heavyweight champion was Hall of Famer Lennox Lewis…all the way back in 2000.
Put simply, this is one of the biggest fights in the 100+ year history of boxing.
Here’s a summary of the contract:
– 50/50 split for the first fight.
– 60/40 split in the rematch, with the winner taking the higher share.
– Both fights will take place in 2021, with the first in August and the rematch around December.
Even more interesting?
The anticipated site fees.
It’s rumored that Saudi Arabia is willing to pay more than US$150 million to host the first fight in August. That guarantees each fighter a minimum payout of US$75 million and would obliterate the record US$60 million site fee paid by Saudi Arabia for the Anthony Joshua vs. Andy Ruiz rematch in 2019. At US$150 million, that’s 2.5x the current site fee record.
As for why so much, there are a variety of factors at work.
Both fighters are British, and the undisputed heavyweight world championship is on the line. That makes it not only the largest fight in boxing but one of the largest sporting events in the world this year.
And, of course, COVID-19 continues to play a role.
With in-person attendance still restricted, an emphasis has been placed on site fees. For example, if British fans can’t attend the US$250 million megafight at stadiums like Wembley or Old Trafford, why shouldn’t Fury & Joshua look to maximize revenue through site fees.
Combine that with the fact that Saudi Arabia has long shown an interest in paying premium fees to showcase its country through top-tier sporting events, choosing favourable publicity over profitable economics, and the deal starts to make a lot more sense.
A final date & location has yet to be decided. Still, reports from ESPN, The Athletic, and others suggest the city of Jeddah in Saudi Arabia on either August 7th or 14th is the most likely possibility.
