My thing is the only way he is gonna get paid is if he fights a top guy like Thurman. Not even Garcia or Porter. Only other guys are Pac and Crawford, fights which seem unlikely.

Mu suggestion IS if he has to fight a stiff for pennies, or under $1 mil or around that, then why not go away and fight another stiff- a home town favorite- and get a better reception to hungry fight fans in another jurisdiction?

A #15 ranked John Johnson from New York for $500k is not as much as a Sergei Labachinko in Russia for $3 mil. Get it?

We have this assumption that only the US and Germany can pay top dollar. Nah, man. South Africa, Philippines, Australia, the UK, France, Italy, Macao, Malaysia and Russia can all get you a relatively better payday than $1 mil for little to less risk than fighting someone who feels he is someone, or of the same caliber, in the USA.

Plus, it boosts his marketing around the world. Makes him more appealing to a world wide audience and hence get paid more in the long term, particularly with PPVs and people who may actually travel to see him; endorsements and things of that nature.

Smartest thing I liked about Roy Jones and to a GREAT extent, Floyd Mayweather, who did a Roy Jones Xs 100, was to get endorsements. RJJ with Nike and Floyd with Hublot and Gucci.