Why Fighters Need Representation
“Have your people call my people” used to be the saying.
What that saying means is, ‘Have your representatives get in contact with my representatives to get a deal done.’
All fighters need representation. Look no further than the botched negotiations between Shakur Stevenson and Frank Martin if reasoning is required.
The glaring difference between both fighters starts with representation.
In Shakur’s corner… He has a legendary boxing manager, James Prince, representing his career. Prince has a long-standing relationship with Top Rank (Stevenson’s promoter).
In Frank’s corner… No representation.
The rabbit hole goes deeper.
Frank Martin was offered $1 million for his purse. His highest purse to date. In Frank’s last bout, he was paid $250,000. It should be a no-brainer that Martin would accept this fight, right?
Wrong.
While Martin was without representation in this negotiation, he realized that $1 million is not $1 million after business is done. He is on record describing his take-home after his overhead expenses were paid—Mid-six figures (Not including Uncle Sam's cut).
Frank Martin is not ducking Shakur Stevenson. He does not want to fight one of the most highly skilled and accurate guys in all of boxing and go home with six figures.
That's understandable. However, If I am being Frank… (pun intended)
Mr. Martin would not be in this situation had he been aligned with adequate representation to talk numbers and particulars on his behalf.
Many different examples could be provided on why fighters need representation. This situation is a case in point.
I absolutely agree. I think that a lot of fighters and their team believe that they can play the role of trainer manager strength and conditioning coach advisor etc. When in reality it’s important to delegate positions of expertise to those that have specialized in that area. In this case Boxing management.
Having the skills to be able to negotiate and create a game plan for your fighter to reach their goal on the business side is essential.