In a conversation with the media, Ringstar promoer Richard Schaefer answers questions about what he thinks of Eddie Hearn’s supposed $12.5M offer to Deontay Wilder to unify titles with Anthony Joshua.
“You can make an offer saying that we want the fight but the offer is such that you really don’t want the fight, and that’s what that shows. I mean they fought Joseph Parker and they gave Joseph Parker 33%...Now we all know that Deontay Wilder is worth substantially more than Joseph Parker because Deontay Wilder does bring the U.S. market to the table, which is substantial.
“So if they in fact offered him $12.5M — which I have a tough time to believe because I don’t believe even Eddie Hearn would stoop that low — that would be 12.5% [of a projected $100M fight]. That basically tells you that they don’t want the fight.”
On what he believes would be a fair offer:
“In my opinion, because of the revenue implications, and I explained it before, I think it should be 50/50. Both are champions, both bring something to the market. Each one of the guys is going to make substantially more money if they fight each other than if they fight other guys, so I personally think — and I could really walk somebody through the numbers because I know the pay-per-view business probably better than most — I think it should be 50/50.
“But let’s say it’s not 50/50. Let’s say it’s 45/55, or even if it’s 60/40, I mean you really can’t go lower than that because, again, they gave 33% to Joseph Parker! So how can it possibly be the same or less than that?! If it’s the same or less than that then the message is very clear, and fight fans and media don’t be fooled: they don’t want the fight!”