As an undisputed world champion, Naoya Inoue is supposed to earn millions per fight, right? Maybe tens of millions like the typical boxing superstars? Well, the reality is quite different. Here is everything we know about the Inoue vs Nery purse.
Inoue vs Nery Purse: “The Monster” Is Criminally Underpaid
There are few active boxers that are more successful than Naoya Inoue. In fact, there is only one other boxer who has achieved the title of absolute champion in two different weight classes.
Naoya was unfortunate to be born with his anthropometry or he would have been one of the wealthiest boxers in the world. The fact is that even the most successful fighters from the lighter classes rarely earn big.
Let's take the recent clash between Devin Haney and Ryan Garcia for the WBC super lightweight title. Garcia is one of the biggest stars in modern boxing and Haney is a former undisputed lightweight world champion. How much money did they make?
According to reports, they made between 20 and 30 million dollars as guaranteed purses. These earnings were doubled after the PPV bonuses.
Back to the Inoue vs Nery purse.
How much do you think Naoya made from his recent unification bout against Marlon Tapales? While it is unconfirmed, reports suggest that he earned between $1-1.5 million as a guaranteed purse. Is this a joke?
If we go back to 2022, it has been said that Inoue won about $2.3 million for one of his fights. Before that, his biggest payday was about a million.
There have been rumors about a record-breaking purse for a fight hosted in Japan. Different Japanese media are making claims that Inoue has been promised a whooping 1 Billion Yen, which translates to around $6.4 million.
We believe that “the Monster” has been criminally underpaid until now. This is the type of money he deserved years ago, not now. Nevertheless, we should be happy that the champion is finally receiving the attention he deserves.
While we cannot confirm or deny, there is a good chance that these reports are true or at least close to the truth. On the other end, Nery is probably going to receive a rather small cut from the Inoue vs Nery purse.
Normally, we would predict a 65/35 cut in favor of the champion but the rumored purse makes it harder. Luis Nery has never earned more than a million for a single fight and this is 100% going to be his best day out.
It is impossible to make an accurate prediction in this case but based on the facts, we assume that Nery will make at least $1.5 million on Monday.
The fact is that if this fight was to play out in Las Vegas or Saudi Arabia, then Inoue would have probably made $20-30 million. We hope to see him fight there someday.
If he comes out victorious again, he should consider this option in the near future, although he probably prefers to fight in front of his home crowd in Japan even if it means making less money.
