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According to the Nevada State Athletic Commission, Floyd Mayweather Jr has a $25 million guarantee for tomorrow night's fight, while opponent and defending WBC welterweight titleholder Victor Ortiz is guaranteed just $2 million.
For comparison's sake, Manny Pacquiao was guaranteed $20 million for his May 7 fight with Shane Mosley, and Mosley was given a $5 million guarantee. Juan Manuel Marquez also has a $5 million guarantee for his November 12 fight with Pacquiao, and a rematch clause should he win that would give him $10 million for a rematch.
Figures for the Vegas undercard:
Erik Morales ($350,000) vs Pablo Cesar Cano ($100,000)
Jessie Vargas ($100,000) vs Josesito Lopez ($30,000)
Needless to say, this is no doubt a career-high payday for everyone but Morales on the undercard.
Ortiz taking "just" $2 million for this fight is a risky move by him and his team. Yes, it's a good payday for him. But he's getting very small money for the size of fight this is. Miguel Cotto made $1 million earlier this year to fight Ricardo Mayorga, and size-wise, that fight wasn't a pimple on the ass of Mayweather vs Ortiz, which is going to pull in well over a million pay-per-view buys and do a huge gate compared to Cotto vs Mayorga. Ortiz could have made close to the same money to fight someone who isn't Floyd Mayweather Jr, so I guess you gotta give him props for taking the $2 mil and the chance of a lifetime.