By Edward Chaykosvky

Former WBO junior welterweight champion Chris Algieri took a very tough loss last Saturday night at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

In a Premier Boxing Champions televised main event, he was stopped in five rounds by up and coming welterweight contender Errol Spence before a packed hometown crowd.

Afterwards, Algieri aired his displeasure with the amount of money that was issued to him for the contest. According to Algieri, he was paid $325,000 based on a 50-50 split with promoter Joe DeGuardia of Star Boxing.

Algieri claims DeGuardia was violating the Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act by not disclosing the full amount of money that PBC was paying for the bout with Spence. He wants his future bouts to have a different split percentage, with the Long Island fighter angling for a 70-30 take.

“It was a 50-50 split,” Algieri said to New York Newsday. “A 50-50 split on paper. After my expenses, I’m making significantly less than [DeGuardia]. I have to pay my head trainer, my assistant trainer, my cutman, my attorney, my accountant, my camp coordinator, my sparring partners (weekly salary plus housing and food), my strength coach and my physical therapist."

“None of that includes all the other expenses I incur in training camp on a weekly basis. What expenses did he incur from this fight? He wasn’t the lead promoter. Did he have any expenses directly related to this particular fight? I spent nearly six figures on this fight alone. What did he spend?”

"Without me, he doesn’t make a dollar. So, yes, I think it’s totally in my right to know what he’s making off my fight, off of me stepping in the ring and risking my life . . . Isn’t that exactly the point of the Muhammad Ali Act?”

DeGuardia spoke to the paper as well, stating that Algieri was violating confidential agreements by discussing the financial details of the contracts.

“When I spoke to him after the fight, it didn’t seem like anything was wrong,” DeGuardia said. “I consoled him on his loss. We’ve done a tremendous job with his career. You hope there would be appreciation for all we did. It’s disappointing that, in this regard, he’s been shortsighted.”

“He negotiated with me for three weeks [for the Spence fight] and had a lawyer negotiate with me and sign off on the deal. Then, he blusters about the Ali Act and disclosures. It was always a farce. It was just a way to try and renegotiate and get more money. It’s a sad thing. You would think somebody who has had a promoter who has enabled him to make as much money as he’s made over the past two years wouldn’t be doing these kinds of actions. They would be more appreciative of the opportunities he’s gotten.”

“[Algieri's fight related expenses] has no bearing because he chose to negotiate a purse as opposed to a percentage split. That was his and his lawyer’s choice, not mine. Now, you want to come back and complain about it? That’s not right. The reason the act was put in to disclose (all money a promoter receives for a particular fight) is so that the fighter ends up being able to get power after the fight to be able to negotiate his next fight knowing what revenues came in from the fight before."

"Nobody cared about Chris Algieri when he was developing. He knocked on everybody’s door. The only one that opened the door for him was me. I’m very comfortable with the fact that Chris Algieri has made a tremendously fair amount of money for the fights he’s been fighting.”