Are More UFC Fighters Due to Cross into the Boxing World?

As little as ten years ago, many North Americans would say boxing was a slowly dying sport. The lack of quality American fighters (as the rest of the world caught up), the rise of the UFC, and the details surrounding CTE in the sport are reasons for the decline of the sport.

However, over the last six years, the sport is starting to revitalize in North America (after the Manny Pacquiao vs. Floyd Mayweatherm , JR. fight set all sorts of records). While we still see a larger focus on UFC – such are doing some online betting on the UFC, and the online sportsbooks offer more markets and odds compared to boxing – boxing is making its comeback.

“McGregor Vs Mayweather, JR.” by Ethan Miller is licensed under CC BY 3.0

One reason people are tuning in to boxing is to see fighters from the UFC. When Conor McGregor took on Floyd Mayweather, JR. – the event drew attention from all across America – amounting to one of the biggest PPV events of all time.

The event turned many MMA fans into boxing fans for the night – some much longer. Drawing in the younger viewers – who may not yet have an interest in boxing – was huge with this PPV – helping set the sport for more success in the future.

Boxing on television – that is not PPV – also helps the sport. Networks such as ESPN, Fox, and streaming service DAZN all regularly show boxing. They are not the biggest boxing events – they still have appeal, especially if you are looking to bet on something on a Saturday night.

So will draw more fighters in the ring for a fight or two. We think the answer to our question is yes.

For one thing, you can fight in the boxing ring and not give up your MMA career. You may have to give up a belt if you are a champion and leave the business for longer than a few months – but you can return to fight for it again once you are done boxing.

If a fighter wants to stay in boxing, they can if they find they are having more success in the combat sport.

“Andy Ruiz Jr. vs Anthony Joshua” by Getty is licensed under CC BY 3.0

These one-off boxing matches also offer a higher earning potential than most UFC fights. While the McGregor and Mayweather PPV is not the perfect example – as McGregor’s potential made over $85 million – it shows the potential.

If a normal boxing event costs about $50 and a million people buy it (which is a bit high but still not crack the top-50 most buys of all-time), a fighter could walk away with $10 to $20 million. McGregor is the highest-earning fighter of all-time – and currently the over fighter in UFC history to earn over $10 million from fight purses.

There is also higher visibility for boxing athletes now – the most since the 1990s. With the events spread on multiple networks – more casual fans can easily catch the sport. They talk about boxing on programs like First Take regularly. They also talk about it more on popular sports podcasts – more than they did even four years ago.

There is also the novelty fight aspect to some of these boxing matches. The Paul Brothers (Logan and Jake are YouTube personalities for those unaware) are calling out MMA fighters to face them in the ring. The two may not be seasoned fighters – and some view their existence in the sport as a stupid gimmick. But when they fight, people tune in – making these matches profitable for everyone involved.

While it is unlikely that boxing reclaims the combat sports crown from MMA (in North America), the sport is doing well enough now that we could see some fighters flipping between the two in the 2020s, which is a good thing for everyone!