CLEVELAND — Cleveland native Montana Love is training for his next fight and the professional boxer said that is a full-time job in itself. 

What You Need To Know

  • Boxing is a sport and a business 

  • The business models for pro and amateur fights can differ

  • Larger venues can be harder and more expensive to reserve for a fight

“Training is about eight hours a day," Love said.

On top of that he has to manage his own books. The first step is to find a venue for a fight. He doesn’t always get invited to one and doing it all yourself can be expensive. 

“If you’re throwing a card yourself and you trying to fight, of course it’s more expensive," Love said. "You gotta book the venue. You gotta put other fighters on the card. You gotta pay your opponent.” 

His last professional fight was in Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse and was broadcast live by the the network DAZN. Love got the network to handle some of the overhead, like insurance, which he said has gotten pricier for larger venues. But if he can’t get a network to back his fight, costs like those all come out of his pocket. 

“It’s like a very short and tight window to get into," Love said. "If you’re not already signed and have proven grounds to show that you can sell or you’re not marketable. No network will take that risk.” 

Tim Stafford manages fighters at the amateur level. He said it can be even harder to break even at the amateur level since the only money made is through ticket sales. Larger fights have guaranteed earnings for fighters, but with smaller fights he still has to get USA Boxing to certify the fight, and they get a cut of the earnings. There are other costs he still has to cover himself, which is why ticket sales are so important. 

“That’s the most important thing in the amateur side, because if you don’t sell the tickets and you don’t recoup those expenses, it’s really hard to have them on an ongoing basis," Stafford said. 

Love said he handles promotional costs for his fights. He paid a designer to make a banner to promote his last fight. He also had his fight promoted at a Browns and Cavs game. He said he’s had to turn some fights down out of concern he may not make enough money to handle the associated costs. 

“Very important to make sure you’re being compensated correctly because we’re putting our life on the line every time we step into the ring," Love said. 

Love said he’s found ways to crack the code and make money, by learning that boxing is a business. 

“Independent business for sure, independent contractor," Love said.