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Fury-Wilder Heavyweight Bout to Reap ‘Huge, Huge’ $200 Million

Fury-Wilder Heavyweight Bout to Reap ‘Huge, Huge’ $200 Million

(Bloomberg) -- This weekend’s heavyweight fight between Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder will generate more than $200 million, according to one of its promoters.

The much-anticipated title fight, Saturday night in Las Vegas, is on pace to be “the biggest boxing match in years,” said Bob Arum, chief executive officer of Top Rank Boxing, which represents Fury. Arum broke down the numbers this week on the Bloomberg Business of Sports podcast.

The biggest source of revenue will be U.S. pay-per-view purchases, which Arum projected would be $160 million (about 2 million buys at $79.99 a pop). The second-biggest pool is likely PPV purchases in Fury’s native U.K., which are expected to be around $20 million, despite the fight airing in the middle of the night.

Ticket sales at the MGM Grand Garden Arena are on pace to top $16 million. Add in revenue from merchandise, sponsorships, closed-circuit sales and other foreign media, and the fight will eclipse $200 million, Arum said.

Fury-Wilder Heavyweight Bout to Reap ‘Huge, Huge’ $200 Million

Once the networks and satellite providers get their cut and shared costs are removed, the pool available to the two sides should be around $150 million, which Arum said will be split evenly with each fighter’s promoter. The total paid to each fighter directly depends on his deal with his promoter -- Arum said Fury’s deal gives the boxer 70%, with Top Rank keeping the remaining 30%.

Using rough math, that means Fury could clear around $50 million from the bout, regardless of the outcome.

“It’s a huge, huge, huge pot of money,” Arum said.

Fury-Wilder Heavyweight Bout to Reap ‘Huge, Huge’ $200 Million

Premier Boxing Champions, which has a deal with Wilder, declined to comment on the financial details of the fight, or its deal with the fighter.

While the fight may set revenue records for a heavyweight bout, it won’t be the most lucrative fight in history. Floyd Mayweather’s long-awaited fight with Manny Pacquiao in 2015 generated a reported as much as $600 million, by far the most ever for a boxing match.

This is the second time that Wilder (42-0-1) and Fury (29-0-1) have fought. Their first bout, in December 2018, ended in a draw after Fury was knocked down in the final round and improbably got back up to keep fighting.

Walt Disney Co.’s ESPN, which has a deal with Fury’s side, and Fox Corp.’s Fox Sports, which has a deal with Wilder, have teamed up to present the fight, meaning fans in the U.S. can buy the fight through either network. Both have also done extensive work promoting the fight, with ESPN giving space during last month’s college football national title game, and Fox doing the same during the Super Bowl.

“I’ve been around as long as there’s been a Super Bowl, and I’ve never seen two 30-second commercials for a fight, not ever, and that’s what Fox gave us for this fight,” Arum said. “If we had to purchase that on the market, it would have cost us over $11 million.”

Though the fighters are splitting revenue 50-50, there is a financial advantage to the winner.

There are agreed contracts already for a third fight, specifying that the winner of Saturday’s fight gets 60% of the next bout’s revenue and the loser 40%, Arum said. “They’re both locked into that rematch, but the loser has the right to pull the plug and walk away,” he said.

To contact the reporters on this story: Eben Novy-Williams in New York at enovywilliam@bloomberg.net;Scott Soshnick in New York at ssoshnick@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Nick Turner at nturner7@bloomberg.net, John J. Edwards III

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