Boxing can be a very lucrative career for those willing to push themselves to their limits. How much a beginning boxer makes is something that I’ve been pondering for a while.
How much do beginner boxers make? The salary for a beginning boxer can vary significantly depending on the fighters’ previous history in the ring and what type of sponsors are backing their team during the fights.
| Amateur boxers (annually) | Beginning Pro boxers (annually) |
| Low: >$19,225 | Low: $22,000 |
| Median: $35,584 | Median: $51,370 |
Boxing has many titles that have the potential to earn more income. There’s a good bit of complexity that goes into how much a boxer is going to earn. Some levels don’t really have a consistent number to nail down that well. Below, we’ll go over in-depth what can affect a boxer’s salary, and what type of expenses they may have.
*It’s important to notice that not every amateur boxer is getting paid. Most of them are fighting for free, trying to build their names and to become more experienced so they can earn money when turn pro.
However, the elite national amateur boxers and elite club boxers are getting paid. That way they don’t have to work, and so they can focus on just their training and represent the country on the Olympics or other international competitions.
So those amateur boxers aren’t exactly beginners as the article suggests but still, I wanted to include some average salary.
Salary of Beginning Boxers
The salary of a boxer is going to vary among the boxers, and it’s not uncommon for a boxer to have a lower salary than another who is in the same weight class. Boxers have to spend a lot of time in the gym in order to get themselves into shape, and many aren’t able to continue past the age of 35 due to the numerous physical tolls that come with boxing.
As referenced in the chart above, the salaries can be very low, and there’s really no a-typical salary to expect when getting into boxing. The median salary for a Pro Beginning boxer is something only half of the boxers in the business are able to see. The job growth is expected to rise 7% through 2026, giving boxers a slight chance to nab a higher pay.
Amateur boxers don’t have the same track record as a Pro Beginning boxer will. There’s a huge skill gap between the levels that can span years of training. Amateur matches aren’t really interesting for the casual fans because they are short, rules are different and knockouts don’t happen that often like in pro boxing.
And as we know the more people watch the fight the more PPVs are sold and the more money the promotion and the boxers make.
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How Does Promotion Play a Part?
Promotions are what can make or break a boxer. This can push their name out farther in the business, and get their names associated with well-known brands. They offer a lot of money but also pressure to make sure the brand name is running as smoothly as possible in order to bring in as much revenue as possible. Promoters get progressively more strict with how they require their prospects to behave and train.
The reputation and notoriety of the boxer translate to how much money they are going to make from their fights. This makes the boxer a target for high name brands that can make a lot of money from them if they are their ambassador. Boxers may get money from types of products sold as a benefit in their contracts.
Highly televised events can also help boost a boxer’s pay and popularity. These allow many people to watch the boxer’s fight and get exposed to the brand they are advertising. Televised events may give the boxers a percentage of the receipts bought from channels like Pay-Per-View.
Even if the fight isn’t televised, the boxer may receive a profit from the number of gate tickets sold for brining in a sizeable How many people lower-level boxers can bring in may bump up their career, and winning it will keep their name in people’s minds.
How Does a Boxer Get Promotion?
A fighter can see their promotional chances increase if their fighting records become better. This will catch many scouts’ eyes. Scouts may visit differing areas like gyms, or fighting events that draw in a copious amount of people.
Scouts are also interested in the boxers weight class, and the higher up the boxer goes, the greater the interest from the scouts. This is because as a boxer goes up in classes, so does the skill required to compete in that level. So it makes sense why a flyweight wouldn’t have as many interested scouts as a heavyweight.
The difference in skill means a difference in possible viewers of the fight. This is in no way saying that flyweights don’t draw in crowds, but there is more money to be made watching bulky titans repeatedly punch each other.
Boxers who are active on a variety of social media platforms, and routinely update their fans on what’s going on see a better income level. Because that brand is being pushed with the name of the boxer, and they have shown they can connect well with potential customers and new fans.
How Does The Fighting Record Affect The Pay?
The purpose of a fighting record is to gauge just how efficient a fighter will be in their matchups. Some fighters that are new may see Journey-Men in their future matches as a way to help them buff up their win ratio, and make them into serious cash cows for interested sponsors that are around.
A boxers promoters can be affected by their fighting record and how well they have boxed in the past. This makes the boxer a safe bet for future brand deals, and they may see better futures contracts as a result.
A boxer who started off in the Olympics, and decided to go pro after, will see a pretty good increase on what their starting pay is. This is because the skill it takes to get to this level is extremely high, and their career outside of the Olympics could potentially be limitless.
They would also have no problem at all finding any promoters to back them after fighting at that level, and scouts may directly try and get in touch with them to negotiate deals with them. Think about it, their face is already all over the place for representing their country at an international level.
What Percentage Of Boxers Receive High-Level Earnings?
Some people may think the low number of boxers that make a suitable income is depressing. Many boxers even struggle to make a living at the pro level.
Getting those Floyd and Pacquiao Millions are a dream for many a boxer. Though, many of them never see it. Getting to that level means the boxer has an almost flawless record under their belt. There aren’t many boxers at any weight level that make a suitable income. According to BloodyElbows, a total of 3.8% (50 Boxers) make over $200,000 a year. This is a hugely competitive number, and only really well-known boxers appear here. These are fighters that have proved their capability both in and out of the ring.
Their promoters are only top-tier, with names being the likes of Everlast. Boxers that make this amount of income are seen as celebrity type figures for how well they are able to engage with their fans and push out the brands.
How Do Their Expenses Affect Their Salary?
Even though a boxer has the ability to make a lot of money, they still have to support their team. This means paying their managers for setting up the fights and negotiating their contracts. They have to pay their trainers for their skills, and they may have to pay for various other team members for their services.
Many contracts vary on how much the trainer or manager can receive at the end of the match, seeing how the boxer could net less than half of their gross income from all of their expenses. According to MelMagazine.com, the absolute most a manager or trainer can receive in the United States is 33%.
Boxers have to pay out of pocket themselves for many things like
- Health Insurance
- Travel
- Food
- Training Clothes
Boxers may also have to pay for the apparel from the promoters themselves as well. A hat with a small logo on the center can cost a boxer thousands. The same goes for things like shorts and t-shirts.
It can be really easy to see how even though boxing may be a very successful career, it can also be very financially draining, especially for the lower end levels that may not be getting the best deals they could be with their sponsors.
Is The Pay Negotiated Up-front?
Thankfully, no matter if a boxer wins or loses their match, they still get the pay they negotiated for. The winner may be able to win more than what was stated in the contract as a result of coming out as the victor, but the loser will still be paid according to their contract.
A boxer could fight for a fixed price that was set while preparations were being made, and could be a result of how much money that had to spend on setting everything up, and how many people they could bring into the venue. Some boxers may see prices that are set strictly for how many people attend, and will be a small percentage off of all of the tickets sold.
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