Rios vs Abril: Purse Report For Top Rank PPV

This past Saturday night at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, 75% of a Top Rank PPV came your way, resulting in one great fight and one even greater controversy. Brandon Rios and Richard Abril headlined this portion of the event, and as far as purses go, this one was a lot more complicated than usual.

Rios' gross purse was $450,000. He also had to pay, as always, his licenses and sanction fees, since he was technically in a title fight, plus some advances (tickets and the like), drug testing withholding ($25,000), $45,000 for missing weight, etc.

In the end, Rios left with $220,175. Not a payday, of course, and more than he "deserved" when you compare it to what Michael Katsidis and Albert Mensah made on Friday, but believe me: Rios wasn't itching to leave $45,000 on the table for not making weight.

Also, for the record, reporting this stuff isn't about giving everyone some tabloid glimpse into the lives of these. I can 100% honestly say that we report the purses from commissions that give the information for two reasons:

1. People are interested, and it's available information.
2. I think a lot of folks grossly overestimate how much money these guys are making sometimes, especially in many cases when you compare the "purse" to what they actually leave with. I believe, and you might disagree, that it's important for people to understand that these guys aren't just rolling around in money all day, especially past the main events.
   

Abril's purse was $100,000, but thanks to $22,500 of Rios' $45K Nevada fine coming his way, he actually left with more than his gross purse ($102,775 net contestant's share), which is uncommon. Too bad he didn't also get the win he deserved, and the $50,000 Top Rank bonus, which wound up going to no one.

In the best fight of the night, and my choice for (thus far) the Fight of the Year, Mike Alvarado had a $95,000 purse (NCS: $39,780), while Mauricio Herrera's purse was $20,000. Top Rank should have split that $50,000 bonus between these guys. I'm 100% serious about that.

The PPV opener saw Mercito Gesta top Oscar Cuero by 8th round TKO. Gesta made $25,000 for the fight, with Cuero on PPV at $8,000.

Off-TV purses below:

Eric Flores $2,500
Wilbert Mitchell $1,000

Terence Crawford $6,500
Andre Gorges $5,000

Mikael Zewski $8,500
Brandon Baue $6,000

Anthony Flores $2,500
Gabriel Medina $1,000

Tremaine Williams $1,500
Jesse Aguiano $2,000