Former WBO light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev made his long awaited return to boxing last month at the Kia Forum in Inglewood, Calif., scoring a unanimous decision victory over the previously unbeaten Tervel Pulev after 10 rounds of action.
Neither fighter has been paid for their efforts.
That’s according to longtime boxing reporter Dan Rafael, who also brought word that heavyweight hurter Kubrat Pulev has not been paid, while opponent Jerry Forrest and his promoter, DiBella Entertainment, have only received partial payment.
The pay-per-view (PPV) event was being sold for $29.99.
“Launched less than two years ago, Triller Fight Club has already sold over 3,000,000 pay-per-views in the past year, making it one of the top-selling combat sports and entertainment platforms,” Triller wrote in a press release announcing the May 14 card. “TrillerVerz’s widely acclaimed monthly series, including world-class professional boxing and musical Verzuz battles, has consistently been at the top of watched broadcasts averaging over 6,000,000 views.”
Maybe Triller execs can skip production class and go right to Finance 101.
The official purses for Kovalev and Pulev were $500,000 and $195,454, while the elder Pulev and Forrest were listed at $204,545 and $140,000, respectively. That doesn’t include undisclosed payments (like training expenses) agreed upon prior to the event.
Promoters are now seeking interest on the back payments.
California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) recently got involved and could suspend Triller from putting on fights in “The Golden State.” Since most regulating bodies practice reciprocity, it would be difficult for the promotion to seek refuge elsewhere.
I can’t imagine this leaves the boys at BKFC with a warm, fuzzy feeling.