How revenue is generated

Floyd Mayweather Jr. gains money through purse bids, his sports equipment business, pay per view and ticket sales. A purse bid is the amount of money to be paid to each fighter after completing their match. The amount of money each fighter receives is determined by how much money each fighter’s representative is willing to put into the match and the fighter’s representatives can negotiate how the money will be split among the fighters. Usually, the winner of the fight receives a higher percentage of the purse bid (Theobald, 2015). Through his successful boxing career, Floyd Mayweather Jr. has earned a great deal of his wealth from purse bids by consistently beating his opponents. Mayweather Jr. also owns a sports equipment brand called “ The Money Team” that generates a profit for him from all over the world (“ The outrageous ways Floyd Mayweather spends his money”, 2017).

Throughout his career, he has accumulated over 20 million pay per view and ticket sales, and he has generated over 1 billion USD of revenue throughout his career (Brown, 2017). However, Mayweather Jr. spends his wealth on very lavish items such as expensive cars, jewelry, clothes, watches, real estate and vacations (Belden, 2017).

Effect of Media

Media has given boxing various benefits and disadvantages. For example, media has allowed more people to be able to watch boxing matches through pay per view sales. People from the other side of the world can view a fight through their television or computer screens. With the introduction of pay per view, the number of timeouts in boxing were increased so that more advertisements can be played while waiting for the boxers to rest. This benefits the boxers, advertisers, and the boxing organization that is being paid to air the advertisements. Pay per view also allows companies to further advertise their brand by sponsoring fighters. As boxers are viewed by millions around the world through the use of media, the company’s brand logo can be seen on the boxer’s boxing attire. Boxing athletes will also gain more opportunities to grow with the help of their sponsors providing them with equipment that can help them improve in the sport. Besides that, media also increases the pressure on boxers to perform well and behave appropriately as more people will be watching them fight. Boxers will be criticised by people from all over the world if they do not perform up to standard or if they display unsportsmanlike behaviour (“ Media and Technology in Boxing”, n. d.).

Technology in Boxing

Technology has been used to enhance boxing in different ways. Video cameras allow people to watch boxing matches from any part of the world. Videos of boxing matches can also be used by boxers to study their own fight or to study their opponent’s fight. Pressure pads and speed trackers are mainly used by boxers during training. Pressure pads show how much power a boxer can generate from their punches and speed trackers show how fast a boxer’s punches are. The statistical data provided by these pieces of technology gives boxers a better understanding of their capabilities and weaknesses (“ Technology in Boxing”, n. d.). Modern anti-doping technology ensures that each fight is fair as it can better detect the use of performance enhancing drugs in boxers (Hill, 2018). Performance enhancing drugs are illegal in boxing matches and boxers caught using it can be ban from fighting or even stripped of their titles (Becher, 2016). Besides that, modern medical technology help boxers recover from injuries quicker. Machines such as MRI’s, cryotherapy machines, and hyperbaric oxygen chambers (Crichton, 2017) ensures boxers are in good physical condition for their fights. Referee Referees play a vital role in boxing. They work to enforce the boxing rules and to prevent fighters from taking any unnecessary damage (Thyme, 2009). Boxers can be badly injured or even die if the referee does not stop the fight when a boxer in a match is unable to continue fighting or protect themselves. The minimum age requirement to be a boxing referee is 16 years old (“ How to Become an Official”, 2018). A boxing referee is paid approximately 150-25 000 USD depending on the level of the fight . Small club fight referees would be paid less than a referee for a professional World Boxing Super Series fight. Boxing referees usually have other jobs too as their pay from officiating boxing matches may not be enough to support their families (Dozier, 2011). The dress code for a referee is a long sleeved light blue coloured shirt, black tie, black trousers, covered shoes. If they choose to wear a belt, the belt cannot be obvious and contain bright colours. Boxing referees must also have a clean shaven haircut (Thyme, 2009). Depending on the boxing organization, there are different levels of referee certifications and the way to achieve these certifications may differ from organization to organization. For example, in Boxing Ontario, there are 5 levels of referee certifications;

Level 1: A 1 day clinic where participants are thought the rules and they practice judging under certified officials. Upon completion of the referee clinic, they will receive a blue passbook that must be used to record every fight they officiate. Level 1 referees are only allowed to officiate club shows and minor tournaments.

Level 2: After judging 50 matches, a Level 1 referee may request the Chief Official to promote them to a Level 2 referee, Level 2 referees normally still officiate club shows and minor tournaments only.

Level 3: Referees can only be promoted to Level 3-5 through the observation and evaluation by the Chief Official during an actual fight. Level 3 referees usually officiate in provincial tournaments.

Level 4: Level 4 referees can officiate in national tournament Level 5: Level 5 referees can officiate in national and international tournaments (“ How to Become an Official”, 2018) However, to be a referee and judge (R&J) for the International Boxing Association (AIBA) and World Series of Boxing (WSB), referees from the Boxing Ontario organization must have at least 2 years of experience in professional boxing and have officiated at least 50 matches as a referee, and 75 matches as a judge before receiving an AIBA referee license. To be able to officiate an AIBA Professional Boxing match, a referee from a boxing organization other than AIBA must have at least 3 years of experience in professional boxing, having officiated 50 matches as a referee and 75 matches as a judge.

Referees can also be demoted from their levels based on their behaviour and performance. Bad behaviour such as accepting bribes and showing biases in a match is a serious offence and can get a referee’s license revoked. Bad performance such as making bad calls or not ensuring the safety of the boxer can cause the referee to be demoted or have their license revoked too (“ AIBA R&J Management Guidelines”, 2018).