“Tiny Tina” Rupprecht and the Financial Challenge of Boxing

On the night of March 25-26 (From 4 a.m. live on BR24SportBroadcast will also be available on demand/rebroadcast from Sunday morning) Tina Ruprechts’ biggest fight is about to happen: in Fresno, USA, the world boxing champion meets American Sinisa Estrada. Estrada is the World Boxing Association (WBA) champion. Rupprecht is the World Boxing Council (WBC) minimum welterweight champion. Then the winner will combine the world titles of two of the four largest boxing federations in the world.

Career highlight Tina Rupprecht from Augsburg: “I think every boxer dreams of boxing in the USA, because boxing is so big there and it’s a completely different platform,” she said on Blickpunkt Sport im BR TV before leaving for the USA.

German boxing lacks money

Missing platform in Germany: “It’s not always that easy as a woman – boxing in Germany is not that easy at all because there is often a shortage of funds. I had to finance the last fights myself and then you need one platform, you need sponsors. It’s a great business explains Ruprecht of BR.

30 thousand euros for the fight

An act mainly because she then has to bring her opponents to Germany. This means that she has to pay for her opponent’s flights and lodging, as well as the fight fee. There are additional costs to the IFRC, which receives penalty fees, and to officials. A total of about €30,000 is collected, which Rupprecht has to pay.

It’s different now in the USA, where “Tiny Tina” (her pseudonym) is being paid: “Unfortunately I can’t reveal the exact amount, but in reality I finally got a fee,” she says.

Women’s boxing recovery

The unification fight in the United States will be a major media event, the American sports broadcaster ESPN will broadcast the fight live and you can also watch the fight live from 4 am on BR24Sport. Not only “Tiny Tina”, but also women’s boxing in general is receiving increased attention. “You can also tell from the cartoons that they are getting more attention, more and more appreciation,” says the world boxing champion.

Last year something historic happened at New York’s Madison Square Garden: For the first time two women fought each other in a title fight. In the arena alone, 19,187 spectators watched the duel live. “There was also a million-dollar public fee,” Ruprecht adds. “This has never happened before. This is of course huge for women’s boxing.”

If Tina Rupprecht wins the unification fight against Seniesa Estrada, this could give a new impetus to women’s boxing in Germany.