Okay, so the other day I got to wondering, like, who’s pulling in the serious dough in the boxing world, but not a fighter? I mean, we all know about the boxers, but what about the refs? So, I decided to dive into it. Here’s how it went down.
First thing I did, naturally, was hit up Google. Typed in “who is the highest paid boxing referee“. Simple as that. Got a bunch of articles and forum discussions popping up. Started clicking through ’em.
A lot of the initial results were just speculation, or outdated info. You know how it is on the internet. Gotta sift through the garbage to find the gold. So, I started looking for names that kept coming up. One name that kept popping up? Kenny Bayless.
Okay, Kenny Bayless. I dug a bit deeper. Turns out, this guy is a pretty big deal. He’s reffed some of the biggest fights in recent history – Mayweather vs. Pacquiao, Canelo fights, the whole shebang. That’s a good sign. These high-profile fights usually mean high paydays for everyone involved, including the ref.
Then I tried searching more specifically for “Kenny Bayless salary boxing referee”. Started getting some more concrete numbers. Some articles mentioned he could pull in anywhere from $20,000 to $25,000 for a smaller fight, and upwards of $50,000 for the really big ones. That’s not bad at all! I’d say that’s impressive.
But here’s where it got tricky. It’s tough to verify these numbers exactly. Referees’ contracts aren’t usually public knowledge. So, most of what I found was based on estimates and informed guesses from boxing insiders.
I also checked out some boxing forums and message boards. You gotta be careful with those, because there’s a lot of BS, but sometimes you can find some useful tidbits from people who claim to be in the know. Found a few threads discussing referee pay, and Bayless’s name kept coming up as one of the top earners. Other names like Tony Weeks and Russell Mora also got mentioned, but Bayless seemed to be the most consistent answer.
So, after a couple of hours of digging, here’s what I pieced together:
- Kenny Bayless is probably the highest paid boxing referee, or at least one of them.
- He gets to ref high-profile fights, those events often offer a lot more income.
- Referee salaries are hard to pin down exactly, it’s pretty much all rumors and estimates.
It’s not a perfect answer, and I can’t say for sure who’s got the biggest paycheck, but Kenny Bayless is definitely up there. Not bad for a night’s work, huh?
It was a fun little dive, reminded me to appreciate all the aspects of sports, not just the athletes.
