Whats the sort of difference in money then for somebody at that level how much might a 5-5 pro expect to earn if he were to box on one of your shows? How often do you put on shows will they likely box more often potentially 6 times a year or more?
Its interesting that you say you would advise a pro fighter to box on your shows for a year or two to gain a following. Why do you think they are more likely or able to gain a following in the local area on your shows than if they box pro.
If a pro promoter were to set up in Nottingham and put on regular shows 6 a year say what do you think that would do to your business?
The difference in money all comes down to ticket percentages for the home fighter , the cut they get in the pros is peanuts , now i kow a pro promotor has more of an outgoing cost so cant really realistically afford to do what we do on tickets , but the fact that on a white collar show they can actually get a better ticket cut in my opinion makes the fighter more motivated to sell tickets as they know the money can be earned , as an away fighter on the white collar its not anywhere near what an away fighter gets in the pros , thats just the way it is , a pro needs to be paid well otherwise whats the point in being an away fighter but in white collar no body sees you fight away that knows you etc so dont really matter if you lose , but some lads i know will box 2 or maybe 3 times each weekend as an away fighter earning anything from £450 - £750 , depending whoss shows they fight on etc , those lads dont need to go to work and doing that each week id guess there better paid than most pros over a year , for home fighters i only do 3 shows a year really now as i find the summer months are bad in nottingham as people are on holiday , both fighters and spectators so i dont do anything in july or august and if i do anything in june it will only be the first half , ive just done a show last weekend and wont do anything now until my next one in september but some of my lads will box as away fighters probably half a dozen times over the summer .
As a rough idea a good ticket seller will earn maybe a grand , more if they shift some serious tickets , plus they may also box for another local promotor so could do 6 home fights a year plus add that to boxing away and youll find the top guys can be earning upwards of 40k a year from it , now not everyone will , thats just at the top but gives you an idea , my last job was as a retail manager doing 50 hours a week and i wasnt earning as much as that so you can see why some of the are beginning to take white collar boxing seriously and raising the skill level , also indicates why in my opinion i see no reason why it shouldnt be known as semi pro as thats effectively what they are .
The shows always sell well as people know there good fights with both guys coming to win , now thats no criticism of journeyman they do a good job and theres even journeyman in white collar now , but people want to see both guys go at it , they also want to see there mates box etc , the whole event is different to how it is in the pros such as being able to drink ringside etc , maybe its a bit more like boxing used to be , maybe thats the point , i certainly feel the pros can learn a thing or 2 from the unlicensed promotors , and to answer the question about if a pro promotor came into my area would it affect me , in my opinion no , it would help sell even more in my view especially if there was a local lad on the up that switched to the pros as they would see the difference between the 2 types .
Final point is that most white collar boxers do it cos they want to live the dream , everyone starts out wanting to one day be world champion so anyone any good ultimately knows the pros are where they need to end up , ive got several lads just on the pro horizon right now , i myself even want to go over to the pros , i wont however get as much money or recognition etc locally but i want to show what ive got in my locker compared to the pro promotors and at the moment the money i make from my shows is partly being saved towards the day i turn pro , which i have discussed with les potts on the central area board , so they know my intentions , my plan is to go pro in 2014, but im not too fussed if its more like 2016 as im currently still only 30 so as far as promoting time is still on my side , i wasnt born into money nor do i have a good paid job so to go pro im having to get the funds together myself , but i WILL get there , so even for me white collar is a start off point just as it is for some of my boxers .
There is actually 2 promotors in close proximity to me from the pros , Carl Greaves and Matt Scriven but for some reason they rarely do many shows actually in nottingham , if they did i believe theyd do well in the main but i dont know is it people like myself operating that makes them not want to ?????????? , there is a matt scriven show on 18th june in nottingham but ill be honest its only small and not in my opinion what will attract mst people , ill go myself , just to take a look but theres no one of real interest to me on the show if im honest
