I always hear people say that when you are willing to do something for free that you have found your passion. The saying, which really is rather cliche, comes from the thought process that if you are willing to do something and not get paid, you must truly enjoy it and thus you have transcended just a regular job into something better. Well, boxing must be my passion. As I look back at 2012 I realize that I have not been paid for a single fight in over a year. Keep in mind that I fought four times in 2012. The interesting thing is that not only was I not getting paid, I actually paid for each of my opponents in 2012. Now, if you are not in boxing this concept probably doesn't make very much sense, why would I pay to fight someone? Furthermore if you pay for your opponent does that mean the person just comes to lay down? I can tell you from personal experiences that the answer is a resounding no. In fact two of my toughest fights to date were guys that I paid for, one of which I actually had a draw. The fight that I paid for to get a draw, I actually fought the guy in his hometown, and recognized that the promoter of the show that I had given the money to was actually working the guy's corner, but that is the subject for a future post. Imagine how it feels to pay for a guy to fight, realize during the fight that this guy is not going anywhere, see the promoter in his corner and then end up getting a draw despite the fact that the people in his hometown started cheering for you during the course of the fight. Let me tell you it sucks, and it made me feel pretty stupid. The reality though is that in other businesses this expenditure of money is called an investment, and that's how I had to start thinking of it. We are currently going through a promoter's market where there are not enough shows, and fighters need to fight, so promoters have the power to make demands that would otherwise seem unreasonable. The reality is that unless you are in some way connected, at some point in your career someone will be paying for your fights. It just happens that since I decided to plow my own road, and am self-managed, I was the one paying for these fights. Through these experiences I learned some very valuable lessons regarding the boxing business, it allowed me to get fights, and it allowed me to learn through the fights themselves. So I consider it an investment, and quite honestly, there is no business I would rather invest in than me.
Now, this is not to say that every fighter will be in a position to pay for themselves, but recognize that just like investors in a business anyone that is willing to pay for you will expect a return on their investment. So you better understand early what their expected return is.
Note to fighters: Think of your career as a business. Understand the terms of any investment, and your investors' expected rates of return.
Now, this is not to say that every fighter will be in a position to pay for themselves, but recognize that just like investors in a business anyone that is willing to pay for you will expect a return on their investment. So you better understand early what their expected return is.
Note to fighters: Think of your career as a business. Understand the terms of any investment, and your investors' expected rates of return.
RSS Feed
