Mike Tyson earned a measly amount for his professional debut.
Mike Tyson took home a tiny paycheck following his blistering win over Hector Mercedes in his professional boxing debut.
Tyson made his bow in the pro ranks back in March 1985 when he fought Mercedes, who was 19 years of age and 0-3 in his three pro fights.
And ‘Iron’ Mike, just 18 at the time, made light work of the Puerto Rican fighter, stopping him in the very first round.
Sporting white trunks, he took just one minute and 47 seconds to knock out Mercedes as he showed off his frightening power and hand speed in a stunning performance, with the referee compassionately waving off the contest.
Remarkably, given the multimillion-dollar paydays he’d make, Tyson’s pro debut failed to sell out the Plaza Convention Center and actually lost money. His manager Jimmy Jacobs shelled out the boxer’s modest $450 earnings.
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“I hardly made any money from those early fights,” he said in his autobiography, Undisputed Truth. “My first fight lost money for the promoter, but Jimmy gave me $500. Then he took $50 from that to give to Kevin and he put $350 in the bank for me, so I walked away with $100.”
After becoming a household name and the sport’s biggest star, Tyson would go onto make massive purses for fights against the likes of Lennox Lewis and Evander Holyfield.
He bagged a whopping $17,500,000 for his bout against Lewis and earned a staggering $30,000,000 for his first showdown against Holyfield.
Mike Tyson in action against Evander Holyfield. Image: Getty
And he’s expected to receive a huge purse for his exhibition bout against Jake Paul, who has said in the past he believes a fight against Tyson could generate an incredible $300 million.
While Paul’s estimation could be overly ambitious, UFC legend Henry Cejudo has claimed Tyson could make a cool $20 million.
