Last night’s purses for Top Rank’s probably doomed but maybe necessary PPV broadcast have been reported. The card featured three titlists in separate bouts. Oscar Valdez, Gilberto Ramirez, and Jessie Magdeleno all defended successfully. US Olympian Shakur Stevenson also successfully made his pro debut.
The fighters’ paydays were as follows:
Oscar Valdez $300k, Miguel Marriaga $40k
Gilberto Ramirez $200k, Max Bursak $50k
Jessie Magdeleno $155k, Adeilson Dos Santos $50k
Shakur Stevenson $20k, Edgar Brito $5k
That is $800,000 dollars of purses in just those four fights. There were four other fights on the card presumably priced around or under the Stevenson fight, so I will assume another $100,000 between them. At $45 a pop, Arum would have had to sell 20,000 PPVs to break even on the fight purses alone. Never mind the arena booking, any advertising, commission fees, etc. I am sure he lost money, but I am also sure he knew he was going to the whole time.
