Mike Perry recently opened up about the financial realities of his high-profile boxing match against Jake Paul on the Mighty podcast. He admitted that he actually earned less money for that match than he has made in some of his BKFC contests.
The revelation came when Perry discussed his unique position as a free agent in combat sports. “Well, I probably got paid less than most of his opponents,” Perry admitted when asked about negotiating with Jake Paul’s team. He went on to clarify that while the Jake Paul match represented his biggest single payday compared to any individual bout, his bare knuckle career has actually been more lucrative when considering multiple fights.
“If you take a couple of my bare knuckles, yes, I have made more in bare knuckle fighting than I did against Jake Paul,” Perry explained. “But the Jake Paul fight singularity in itself, against any other single fight that I’ve had, Jake Paul paid me more.”
Perry’s situation was unique because he had an existing contract with Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) that included specific financial incentives and protections. As Perry noted, “I had that money on contract with Bare Knuckle and we had incentive to say this is what he’s going to get and if you want him to fight in my bare knuckle contract, being a free agent, it just has to make sense for the company and for me.”
The match against Jake Paul came together on short notice, with Perry having to move up significantly in weight class. “Jake had been training with a multi-million dollar team for the last 5 years in strictly boxing. And I had been doing bare knuckle, two-minute rounds, very fast pace,” Perry said.
Unlike many competitors locked into exclusive contracts, Perry has been able to negotiate across multiple promotions, allowing him to maximize his earning potential.
