Adam Osper, managing partner in financial planning at Evelyn, said the firm plans to support boxing professionals through every step of their career so that when they come to the end of it, they are financially secure.
“The vast majority of boxers, from Olympic ‘amateurs’ to full professional, have never had the benefit of any guidance on basic things like mortgages, debt, savings and how to plan for the future.
“Due to the unstructured nature of their job they may never earn what is considered good money. Others can start to receive large payments later in their career – or in rare circumstances they could become a pay-per-view superstar,” Osper said.
Joshua agreed with Osper and said: “As an athlete your career is short and you need to be smart with how you plan for tomorrow. At 258 we take this very seriously and are proud to be industry leaders with how we support and nurture the careers of our athletes and any fighter who wants to participate.”
Fighters retiring without a solid base of savings or assets has been a common problem in boxing historically.
258 MGT’s head of boxing, Will Harvey said education can help counter this.
“We want to try and develop this element of pastoral care within the sport to help prevent financial problems that boxers often experience towards the end or after their fighting career,” he said.
Evelyn’s financial planning director, Ben Gibson added: “Boxers generally have little support in this area, and what we are proposing is unique and a new exciting proposition. In football as an example, the clubs have been taking this seriously for some time, and there is a focus around ensuring that young footballers are receiving education and post career support.”
Gibson pointed out that up until now in boxing, and most solo sports, this “seems to be ignored” due to the lack of a club structure surrounding the athlete.
