" David "Haye is not considering any opponents right now, he needs rest"

[Kirkland Laing]

Greater that $0 ergo he wouldn't be fighting for free.

Mate haye IS a business not an employee, he doesn't clock in on his way to the ring and then keep 100% of his wage packet. He has expenses... Trainers, corner men, managers, promotions, nutritionists, gym space, equipment, transport, insurance amongst a crap load of other things and living expenses and thats just during camp. If he manages to get a couple of grand from hbo and his camp cost about the same then where does he stand.

I do agree that this is a bad statement from booth though. Especially afterwlads youtube rant

Understood, I'm not arguing any of that, but my point is still true. Haye's cut on a heavily hyped card (easily billed as the biggest heavyweight fight for a long time) would have exceeded whatever Setanta was going to pay him. Plus he would get a cut of the gate. Is it speculation? Sure, but it's not like HBO is going to pay a few thousand dollars to a fighter they had already spent tens of thousands promoting.

HBO were paying the promotion a license feee, they weren't paying the boxers individually. And the way the fight contract worked was that Junior got almost everything other than the Setanta money for the fight and then about 10 000 options on Haye afterwards. Haye probably would have made enough from the non-Setanta revenue streams to cover his expenses but would have been basically fighting for free.