A good number of current and previous world titlist in the bantamweight division were paid more than $1 million for title fights but in his last fight against Flores, the 36-year-old skilled fighter from Cuba was reportedly paid a meager amount of $120,000.
Nonito Donaire, who lost to Rigondeaux in a title fight in May 2013 was reportedly paid $1 million for a number of title fights under his promoter Top Rank, Inc.
Boxing promoters are usually blamed for not giving his fighter a decent purse for world title fights. But there is a reason why Rigondeaux could not get the right purse due him being a world titlist with unbeaten record.
One of the reasons is Rigondeaux’s boring fighting style which is the cause of low crowd attendance in many of his title fights.
In his post-fight statement after beating Leo Santa Cruz in July last year, former WBA featherweight champion Carl Frampton said he would fight any challenger but he wants to make sure that the fans are not treated to a boring fight that may be possible if he fights Rigondeaux.
“I’m happy to fight anyone. I genuinely am. I would fight anyone,” Frampton said at the post-fight press conference. “But I want to be involved in exciting fights. I had a bit of a stinker with Scott Quigg. I don’t want to be involved in another fight with Rigondeaux that would be a stinker. People will start to think ‘This guy is boring’ and start to not like me,” he said
Frampton said he is not getting any younger and choosing a financially-rewarding fight is his utmost concern. He believes the Rigondeaux fight isn’t easy to sell because of his fighting style and is therefore not financially-rewarding for him.
“Rigo doesn’t bring a pound to the table. That’s just the way it is. He’s an unbelievable fighter. I want to be honest. He doesn’t bring any money to the fight,” he added. Read more:
Now that Rigondeaux has shown that he can also be entertaining after knocking out Fuentes Saturday night, his promoter should be able to come up with a sales pitch that would entice fans to watch Rigondeaux in his next title fight.
Boxing is business at the same time and it is the duty of the promoter to be creative in his marketing approach to sell the fight. After all, Rigondeaux is unbeaten as a professional boxer with an impressive credential as an amateur, having been a two-time gold medalist in the Olympics.
Rigondeaux deserves more than $500,000 for his next title fight.
