The challenge of signing a deal with a major promoter

By Daniele D’Alessio

BEING a professional boxer without a long-term deal with a big-time promoter is often a struggle. Unless you won a medal at the Olympic Games or had a stellar amateur career, the chances of signing such a contract are slim. So, the majority have no choice but to work their way up the ladder on small hall shows.

Boxing is compared to the Wild West and when you realise most prospects need to sell countless tickets just to break even, it makes you wonder what drives so many to put their health on the line, fight after fight, for little or no financial return.

But at the same time, this struggle makes the sport so compelling. It’s the Cinderella-like stories of boxers competing at random venues in Mexico to then headlining at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas years later like Canelo Alvarez.

Or boxers like Josh Padley, who went from working as a part-time electrician to fighting on the undercard of Anthony Joshua vs Daniel Dubois at Wembley Stadium to emerging victorious as a heavy underdog.

One British prospect who is hoping for a similar trajectory is Alex Murphy, a super-lightweight from Salford. Despite having an undefeated record of 11-0, he has not fought since outpointing Eliecer Quezada last April on a Black Flash Promotions card.

Like numerous prospects on ticket-selling deals, Murphy was left to train in the dark for a few months until he was offered the chance to return on October 25 on a Wasserman Boxing show in Bolton.

“It’s just a waiting game,” Murphy told Boxing News Online.

“You’ve just got to hope. You’re unsure what’s going to happen. You’re unsure of what fights you’re going to get and what opportunities you’re going to get. It’s out of my control. The only thing I can do is stay in the gym, and be ready for when I get the call.

“Luckily, we’ve had plenty of notice for this one and I can do a proper training camp and I can get myself ready for it. I had a good two or three months where I was training and I just didn’t have a fight lined up. Everything was a bit up in the air. 

“But I can say I stayed ready, stayed in the gym, and eventually I got a fight date. I’ll be more than ready for it.”

This isn’t the first time Murphy will appear on a Wasserman card. He previously fought on the undercard of Lyndon Arthur’s bout against Braian Nahuel Suarez for the IBO light-heavyweight title in September 2023 and two other times in the same year.

However, ‘Super’ is determined to produce an emphatic performance when he takes on Dan Booth next.

Murphy continued: “I just want to show how much I’ve improved over the time I’ve had off. Since my last fight, I’ve not been out of the gym. 

“I’ve done loads of sparring. This bit of a break might have been a blessing in disguise because it’s given us plenty of time to work on different stuff and experiment with things in training.

“Since my last fight in April, I’ve not taken my foot off the gas. My conditioning is sky high like it always is. I’m just getting myself in the best shape possible and I’ll be even better, fitter, and stronger come next month. I’m looking forward to showing everyone that.” 

Murphy is a full-time professional boxer so there is pressure for him to perform in every fight. Yet the duties of work go beyond the squared circle. The sparring, strength and conditioning, and technical drills are just one part of the puzzle.

“The more tickets I sell the more money I get and that’s my wage. This is my full-time job so these wages are what I rely on. 

“Training camps aren’t cheap. It costs a lot of money to get my nutritionist. It costs a lot of money for the training, doing the food shops and medicals. It cost me eight grand for the medical last year.

“It cost me an extra two grand because I had to see a neuropsychologist. I’ve been told next year I’ve got to see a neuropsychologist again, so that’s another two grand. It’s not cheap but you have got to just stay switched on with it all.”

Furthermore, with everything being online in this modern age, it’s never been more important for a fighter to have a social media presence, documenting their lifestyle in a bid to increase their following.

“Even when I’m not fighting, I’ve got to be active on social media so people don’t forget about me. It sounds mad but it’s also hard because when you’re not fighting, you haven’t got that much content to post. So, it’s a bit of a battle. 

“I feel like I’ve stayed out there on my social media as much as I could. I think the break might have done me good in terms of ticket sales because, over this inactive period, I’ve had a lot of people messaging me asking when my next fight is and showing interest.

“Hopefully it won’t be long until I get signed with a promotional company and get a set wage and just get a commission with the tickets. That would make my life easier. As it stands, the more tickets I sell, the bigger the wage I get.”

Only 23 years old, Murphy has plenty of time to move up the ranks, gain more experience, develop his boxing skills, and attain his man strength. 

And thanks to Floyd Mayweather Jr’s previous reign, Murphy still possesses one of the best-selling tools for any pro boxer, which is an undefeated record.

But Murphy is not planning to shy away from harder challenges and is already eyeing his first professional title.

“The plan is to fight Dan Booth. I’ve got to be focused for that fight. This is a six-rounder. After that, in December, I’ll be looking at being out again, which would be an eight-rounder.

“It will set me up nicely for the start of next year with a shot at the Central Area Title. Just crack on from there. Get the Central Area Title and just see what next year brings. It should put me in good stead. Fingers crossed it all works out that way.”