Which Combat Sports Promotions Applied For Federal Loans?

Over the past few months, the coronavirus has affected all businesses, big and small. Sports promotions have also taken a hit, due to the fact that crowds haven’t been able to attend events, many of which have been postponed. It appears some of the top combat sports promotions required assistance.

According to an ESPN report, Mayweather Promotions, Top Rank, and Golden Boy all applied to a federal loan program. The goal of the program has been to help small firms cope with the economic impact of COVID-19. While full financials weren’t revealed, between $350,000 and $1 million were requested from the three.

According to The Associated Press, Congress created $659 billion in low-interest loans that can be used for payroll, rent, and other expenses. Congress ended up extending the program until August 8. None of the major sports leagues, or “The Big Four” in America, MLB, NFL, NHL, and NBA, applied for a PPP loan.

It is not confirmed if the above promotions accepted the loans. Top Rank started producing events since the beginning of June in Las Vegas. Without a crowd, the promotion has been inside a “Bubble”, and Bob Arum is hoping fans can watch the fights live by September. According to Sports Media Watch, Top Rank on ESPN has been viewed by over 300-390K viewers every week.

Golden Boy, headed by Oscar De La Hoya, is set to return to action on July 24. The promotion was rumored to return by July 4. Mayweather Promotions associates itself with Golden Boy and has also worked with Showtime before. It is headed by Floyd Mayweather, who was named one of the highest-paid athletes of the decade by Forbes with $915 million.

Besides boxing, the National Women’s Soccer League applied for and received between $1 to $2 million to support 213 employees. Big 3 Basketball received $1.6 million and returned $700,000, and U.S. Figure Skating Association and USA Softball were two out of 32 U.S. Olympic teams that applied. They ended up receiving $403,000.