Jake Paul and Tommy Fury's collective fight purses will likely reach into the eight figures for their grudge match on pay-per-view in Riyadh this evening.
The social media star is one of boxing's biggest earners, and his rival will now add a monstrous amount to his net worth for an eight round fight that has been in the making for two years. Paul and Fury have been due to fight twice before, and are finally getting in the ring tonight.
Fury is believed to be earning in the region of £2.5-3million, with initial reports being all but confirmed that such an offer was made to the Brit during final negotiations. Paul's purse has been less publicly speculated, but it is likely closer to £10million, which is similar to what he is often paid.
Asked if Fury was indeed being paid £2.5million for the bout, Paul responded that he "can't confirm or deny." But he joked that his purse was "always" considerably higher, and given that his last disclosed purse was a base of $2million on top of pay-per-view for his first meeting with Tyron Woodley, it's likely he's earning a career-high payday this time around.
The pair had seemingly agreed to a 'double or nothing' bet, in which Fury would double his purse if he beats Paul, but would lose it all in the case of a loss. However, the American declared yesterday that he would rather fight
As for Fury, he insists that the finances aren't an issue, telling Mirror Fighting : "Trust me, the payout is very, very good. But at the end of the day, I'm not interested in that. Throughout the whole build-up of this fight, money has not entered my head once. All that's entered my head is knocking Jake Paul out.
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"Honestly, I've not thought about the money once, it doesn't get me up for it what gets me up for it is going in the ring with Jake Paul and flattening him. The money is great, it comes along with the sport but the fight is what I'm actually looking forward to here."
Saudi Arabia has brought three major PPV bouts to the kingdom in recent years, with Skill Challenge Entertainment stumping up monster money for two world heavyweight title fights and now this influencer showdown. Anthony Joshua made tens of millions for his two title bouts, as did his opponents Andy Ruiz Jr and Oleksandr Usyk.
However, Fury and Paul will likely command a considerably smaller fee given the lack of belts on the line and the lesser international fan and tourism interest. It is expected that the region will also welcome Devin Haney vs Vasily Lomachenko, and just narrowly missed out on the undisputed title fight between Tommy's brother Tyson and Usyk.
