Taking on the world’s toughest players can often be a thankless task – but sometimes it can pay off your petrol bills.
Other times, you can make a few thousand dollars and live in a luxury complex, just ask Dave Allen.
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Allen has a record of 23 wins, six losses and two draws from 31 bouts, once challenging for the Commonwealth heavyweight title.
But he also made a name for himself competing against almost all the top names domestically and overseas.
Their charming YouTube On the channel, Allen lifted the veil on life as a sparring partner and revealed how much he used to earn compared to some of the fighters.
Wladimir Klitschko, £1,200 per week
Allen trained with the Ukrainian legend in Austria in 2014 – he was working there as a supply teacher at the time – and they had each other’s best moments as training partners.
He said: “First of all, where we stayed was like a castle in the Alps, it was a very beautiful place.
“It’s probably the best place I’ve ever stayed, if not a little boring actually. I was only there for five days, but there was nowhere to go or nothing to do.
“The food we got at the hotel was incredible, the food was amazing and on top of that they paid me about €1,500 a week.
“I was there only for five days but they paid me in full, they could have probably paid me less but they gave me the full Rs 1,500.”
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Oleksandr Usyk, £840 a week
Allen revealed he fought Usyk for around 25 rounds – at one point he nearly passed out – but revealed he relied solely on junk food.
“The money is good, I am very happy to get 1,000 euros a week,” he said.
“But the environment was the worst where we stayed, I think it was the Ukraine Olympic Training Base.
“Personally, it wasn’t good. The food was lousy, I literally survived on bread.
“I found this canteen the second week, I was surviving on bread, chocolate bars and crisps.”
Tyson Fury, £200/£300 per week
The two first began sparring with each other for free under the training of Fury’s uncle Peter.
But when the Gypsy King returned in 2018, he gave Allen a few hundred pounds, which helped pay for the fuel.
Allen said: “We were friends and it was just like, ‘Look, come play a few rounds first. You’ll find something for yourself.’
“He would go on and practice with his other teammate and you could see he was putting a lot more force into his shots and the intensity was changing.
“And to be honest I didn’t expect to get paid for it. I was just happy to go out there and help out, it gave me a chance to get out of the house and play a few rounds.
“But he would always pay me. Maybe between £100-£150 at a time, or two-three times a week, so after petrol I could earn about £300 a week.”
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Anthony Joshua, £0
Since both of them started fighting as amateurs, no money was given.
But while Joshua was on his way to becoming a superstar, Allen wasn’t paid a penny for sparring sessions, leading to confusion and some anger.
He admitted: “As time went on, I started getting paid to spar with other boxers and I began to question ‘why did they never pay me?’
“Honestly, in the back of my mind, it was like, ‘He’s got me out of here.’ I was sparring with him two or three times a week, six, eight, up to 10 rounds.
“I had a broken nose for about a year. Rob McCracken, is that him? I don’t know exactly.
“Over time I realise that I should have taken care of myself, I should have been more understanding. I should have had someone there because sometimes I was on my own.
“I should have been smarter, it’s nobody else’s fault but my own. But yeah, I felt I deserved to get paid. It was professional boxing.”
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honorable mentions
Allen also revealed he was paid £675 a week to train with Polish Artur Szpilka for two weeks, including staying in a luxury hotel in Warsaw and travel expenses.
Read more at The Scottish Sun
Robert Helenius paid £420 per week. Dillian White also paid an undisclosed amount but also provided meals for camp members.
Welsh former cruiserweight world champion Enzo Maccarinelli was at £20 per round.
