“You can’t run a boxing organization when you don’t have any fighters. And right now, TKO and Dana have zero fighters.” Oscar De La Hoya’s words rang loud as Dana White’s venture into the realm of squared rings continued to gain traction. Unfortunately for the UFC head honcho, the talk of the town negated TKO Boxing’s fighter payout scheme. Yes, we’re indeed talking about the leaking schemes for the boxing venture. Even Eddie Hearn, who generally stands in favor of White’s decisions, seemed to be wary of the fighter pay.
On April 12, 2025, a reporter from Fighter Hub TV happened to interview the British sports promoter as Jaron Ennis and Elmantis Stanionis weighed in for their fight. The reporter wasted absolutely no time in asking Hearn about his thoughts on the leaked numbers for TKO Boxing’s pay structure. Hearn replied, “If that is the correct numbers, they’re ot gonna recruit any, any top-level fighters at all. But I don’t necessarily think that’s the model. But again, if you want to take, like, control, or you want the fighters to do what you wanna do, there’s only a certain amount of fighters that will do that. Do you know what I mean? And the reality is, is the top-level guys aren’t gonna sign contracts like that.”
But what about the fighters that White and Sheikh Turki Alalshikh have already recruited? Well, the Britisher claimed that they were simply mid-level fighters. He claimed, “And I know some of the fighters they are recruiting, and they are mid-level guys. And I think if they are mid-level guys, the pay is fine. But they’re not gonna get any big names. The answer is no one knows what it is, but it is a positive.” Ultimately, getting the UFC head honcho to enter the realm of boxing was nothing short of good news for the sport.
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While White received quite a bit of backlash for the pay structure for TKO Boxing, as some entities believed that the MMA promoter was actually right. And the former UFC contender, Josh Thompson, was one of the few who supported White’s regime. Let’s take a look at it.
Ex-UFC star stands in support of Dana White’s TKO Boxing payout scheme
During an episode of the Weighing In podcast, the UFC veteran told his co-host, ‘Big’ John McCarthy, why White’s regime is actually worth it. Thompson said, “What it is that it is for younger fighters. These are for fighters coming up that are never gonna see money trying to box on the undercard of a Mayweather fight. Those fighters are gonna make $1000 and $1000, $800 and $800….That’s what this whole misconception is about that boxers get paid all the time! No, they do not.”
These words do align with Hearn’s assessment, don’t you agree? It seems like TKO Boxing kept its focus on new fighters, with the unranked fighters set to receive $20K for fighting 10 rounds. If these boxers climb the rankings and reach #5-#10, they’d get $50K for their fights. Fighters ranked #3 and #4 had a purse of $125 K. Of course, the title challengers would receive a lot more, and the number was around $375 K. And the champions? They are set to thicken their wallets by $750K for defending the company’s championship title.
But what are your thoughts on the payout regime for TKO Boxing? Do you think Hearn is right about top-level fighters moving away from TKO Boxing? Let us know what you think in the comments down below.
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