A boxing manager is in charge of overseeing many aspects of a boxer’s professional career. A boxer can choose to manage himself or herself, but he or she may be saddled with too much responsibility. Setting up matches with opponents, negotiating payments, and promoting the boxer to ensure a high turnout at matches are just a few of the business aspects that go into making a boxer’s career successful. Because a boxing manager is paid a percentage of a boxer’s earnings, he or she will want the boxer to be as profitable as possible.
A manager’s primary responsibility is to oversee training. In order to decide what type of matches to get the boxer involved in, he or she must first ensure that the boxer is in top physical condition. To ensure that the boxer is properly prepared for competition, the manager must strike a delicate balance when selecting opponents. A boxer’s manager may be more concerned with learning competition techniques and evolving as a fighter at the start of his or her career than with easily winning. A boxing manager may sign a boxer up to fight against more experienced opponents in order to gain long-term experience, even if it means losing some fights.
The most successful boxers have their managers heavily market them. A boxer will almost always need a promoter to draw crowds to his or her fights in order to continue to be paid for boxing matches. If a manager makes a boxer famous through the media or word of mouth, and fans continue to pay to see his boxer’s fights, the promoter will continue to pay the boxer to fight at his or her location.
When a boxer’s popularity grows and he or she is offered more matches, his or her manager may be able to negotiate payment prices with promoters. A manager can spend weeks or months negotiating payment for a single, high-profile match, depending on the boxer’s fame and popularity. A business-savvy boxing manager will be able to persuade promoters to agree to lucrative payments without alienating them or earning his or her client a bad reputation.
If a boxer is successful, his or her manager may be required to work irregular hours in order to keep up with all of the responsibilities as they arise. A boxer’s manager is often the boxer’s representative to promoters and the media, and may also handle financial matters such as collecting payment from promoters or paying for additional staff or expenses, such as assistants or office space. Because management carries so much responsibility, a boxer must believe that he or she can trust a manager with his or her money, image, and career.