Dana White's TKO boxing plans reportedly include fight purses ranging from $20K to 6 figures for title defenses

Dana White, CEO of the Ultimate Fighting Championship gestures as he speaks during a rally for Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump at Madison Square Garden, in New York, U.S., October 27, 2024. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly — Dana White and Turki Alalshikh's boxing plans are beginning to take shape. (REUTERS/Andrew Kelly)

The entry of TKO into the boxing market — spearheaded by Turki Alalshikh, UFC CEO Dana White and WWE President Nick Kahn — continues to be the talk of the combat sports world.

In the weeks since the announcement, rumblings have persisted about how TKO will operate in the sport, with many viewing its one-belt UFC-type model as a potentially revolutionary change for boxing. When Alalshikh promised that his newly formed entity would "crush boxing," it was difficult not to take him for his word considering the impact Alalshikh has already had on the sport with the success of his Riyadh Season shows.

Now we have an initial preview of the company's plans.

Boxing Scene reported Wednesday that the new entity, formally known as Hualapai Ventures, Inc., will include former Top Rank attorney Harrison Whitman and CAA agent Ishmael Hinson among its partners. Hinson represents pound-for-pound star Terence Crawford and was influential in the making of Crawford's undisputed welterweight title bout with Errol Spence Jr. in 2023.

White wants to revert to the "traditional weight classes" in boxing for his new venture. Pugilism had just eight weight categories 100 years ago; presently the sport has between 17 and 18 divisions. TKO will create its own belts and use its own ranking system, rather than go off the four major sanctioning bodies — the WBA, WBC, WBO and IBF — which are utilized in boxing right now.

The UFC CEO recently told Dan Rafael's "Big Fight Weekend" podcast that he was looking to sign more than 150 fighters. Those fighters would ink a three-year contract following their first bout, with a stipulation that they must stay on board at TKO for at least two years following their signing.

TKO boxers would be contracted to fight every five months, with a good-faith effort made for them to compete four times in their first year with the promotion. It is rare for a top-10 level contender to fight more than twice in a calendar year, so such a rate of activity would be positive for the sport.

The contracts presented to potential TKO signings would reportedly see them agree to a guaranteed purse depending on their ranking and whether they were fighting for the company's title belt. According to the Boxing Scene report, the purses would be as follows:

$20,000 for a 10-round bout by an unranked fighter.
$50,000 when ranked by “the company” at No. 5 to No. 10.
$125,000 when ranked by the company at No. 3 to No. 4.
$375,000 when challenging for the “company” championship.
$750,000 when defending the “company” championship

Many of the established stars and top prospects in boxing earn significantly more than the proposed purses in TKO's reported contracts, leading some to believe that TKO will be targeting lesser-known contenders and prospects in the sport to sign up for its league.

At least three fighters who are struggling to land opportunities on televised boxing cards have held discussions with TKO reps in recent weeks, sources close to the situation told Uncrowned.

The purses listed would be for boxers fighting on regular shows. Should they headline on U.S. pay-per-view, they would receive a higher guaranteed purse to be agreed upon and potentially also earn profits from the pay-per-view earnings, according to the report.

Topics

'Boxing's not broken' - Hearn responds to White's new league

Eddie Hearn is unsure what Dana White and TKO's new boxing league will look like, but says "boxing is not broken".
BBC News - Mar. 11
TKO Boxing explained: What we know about Dana White's role and its plan, what could still happen in the future

White and Turki Alalshikh made the announcement about the new league coming to boxing, but many details are still to be announced
CBS Sports - 5d
Callum Walsh, Dana White's first boxing experiment, has the rest of the combat world seeing green

Callum Walsh rang in St. Patrick's Day with a thunderous knockout in New York City. Is Dana White's pet project a harbinger of things to come in the boxing world?
Yahoo Sports - 2d
UFC Fight Night 254 video: Top prospect Kevin Vallejos TKOs SeungWoo Choi in debut

Kevin Vallejos showed why there's hype around his name in his octagon debut against SeungWoo Choi at UFC Fight Night 254. After earning a UFC contract through Dana White's Contender Series, ...
Yahoo Sports - 3d
Boxing divisional rankings: Flyweight has a new No. 1

Kenoshiro Teraji takes Seigo Yuri Akui's top spot at flyweight after a comeback TKO win. Here are the latest ESPN divisional rankings.
ESPN - 1d
TKO Boxing: Contract terms appear to reveal salaries, what fighters can expect, per report

Fighters who decide to join the league will face similar issues to what UFC fighters run into if all things hold
CBS Sports - 2h
Kevin Vallejos predicts Jean Silva rematch will happen for UFC title

LAS VEGAS – Kevin Vallejos beat SeungWoo Choi with a first-round TKO Saturday to open up the main card at UFC Fight Night 254 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Take a look inside the fight with ...
Yahoo Sports - 3d
Fight over planned redevelopment of White Stadium by Boston NWSL continues with trial

Boston’s NWSL club, which recently announced it is changing its name after a negative response to its first attempt, is now hoping for a different type of win in court this week. On Tuesday, the ...
Yahoo Sports - 2d
Demon-child movie wows China – and smashes global box office records

Virtually unknown in the west, Ne Zha 2 is the world’s highest-grossing animation at £1.6bn – outdoing Inside Out 2 – just weeks after its release. Just a few years ago, the biggest star of the ...
The Guardian - 3d

Dana White's TKO boxing plans reportedly include fight purses ranging from $20K to 6 figures for title defenses

Topics

Related

'Boxing's not broken' - Hearn responds to White's new league

TKO Boxing explained: What we know about Dana White's role and its plan, what could still happen in the future

Callum Walsh, Dana White's first boxing experiment, has the rest of the combat world seeing green

UFC Fight Night 254 video: Top prospect Kevin Vallejos TKOs SeungWoo Choi in debut

Boxing divisional rankings: Flyweight has a new No. 1

TKO Boxing: Contract terms appear to reveal salaries, what fighters can expect, per report

Kevin Vallejos predicts Jean Silva rematch will happen for UFC title

Fight over planned redevelopment of White Stadium by Boston NWSL continues with trial

Demon-child movie wows China – and smashes global box office records

More from Yahoo Sports

2025 March Madness: Best names to use for NCAA Tournament bracket pools

Ex-Augusta National employee gets 1 year in prison for theft of Arnold Palmer green jacket, Masters memorabilia

Premier League prize money — How much is each table position worth?

12-run inning leads Arkansas past Oral Roberts

Brewers settle their shortstop situation by moving Joey Ortiz over from third base

More in Sports

Robinson among USMNT trio ruled out for CNL

Poch: 'Big mistake' for USMNT to focus on politics

López, Dumornay, Shaw lead best U21 women's soccer players

Chelsea's Bronze: Autism works 'in my advantage'

Pro-rel coming to U.S. soccer for 1st time in USL