A HEAVYWEIGHT PAYDAY: A KO OR NO, TYSON, HOLYFIELD TO BOTH CASH IN.

Byline: Michael Rosenthal Daily News Staff Writer

The figures are staggering.

Heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield and challenger Mike Tyson will make $30 million each when they tangle Saturday in Las Vegas, the most in boxing history.

If the fight goes 12 rounds, that's $833,333 per minute of boxing. And it probably won't go the distance, which means that figure would likely exceed seven figures.

The average American would have to work more than six months to earn what the fighters will make each second, assuming both are left standing at the end.

And, from one more perspective, it would take the average Joe roughly 1,200 years to make $30 million.

How can this be? How can two guys pounding the hell out of each other for less than an hour make more money than all but a few see in a lifetime? And how can the promoters guarantee such paydays before they see the bulk of their revenue?

Pure capitalism. There's a fortune to be made with the right fighters - of whom these certainly are - and it's you, the fight fan, who pays the bill.

``That's the beauty of boxing: It's true free market because most of the money is generated by pay-per-view (television),'' said Randall Lane, editor of POV (Point of View) magazine who conducted a study of the boxing industry in 1995. ``People are paying directly to see superstars. It's not like football or basketball with salary caps, commercials, sponsorships.

``The only real way to make money (in boxing) is to sell tickets at events and pay-per-view.''

Of course, only a few fighters can command multimillion-dollar purses.

In 1995, the top five money-making fighters earned roughly $100 million, according to Lane's study. That's more than the remaining estimated 5,000 fighters in the world, which means very few get rich.

The ones who do - Tyson, Holyfield, George Foreman, Oscar De La Hoya, et al - get stinking rich because they have something the public wants.

Tyson is the best example. From the beginning, fans have been captivated by his savagery. Another good example is George Foreman, who has evolved into a brilliant self-promoter.

``These guys know what their value is,'' Lane said. ``And they're smart enough to demand a piece of the pie. Foreman is a guy who precisely, deliberately built an image that people want to watch fight.

The promoters also know the value of the fighters. That's why they can guarantee gargantuan purses and not lose sleep. Said Showtime executive Jay Larkin, whose company and Don King are 50-50 partners in this venture: ``We're pretty comfortable.''

Larkin wouldn't say specifically how money is generated or how much he expects the promotion to make. Promoters never do.

However, with the help of Lane and others, it's possible to provide an idea of how it works.

The first time Holyfield and Tyson fought, in November, a record 1.6 million homes (in a universe of about 30 million homes) purchased the event, according to Showtime executive Jay Larkin.

For this fight, one of the most significant in 20-plus years, that figure could reach 2 million. At an average cost of $50 per home, Larkin's figure, that's $100 million.

Of that, half goes to local cable operators, leaving King and Showtime $50 million, $10 million less than they need to pay Holyfield and Tyson.

The balance of the money, as well as an anticipated profit for the promoters, comes from a variety of sources.

Normally, casinos pay a site fee for a fight this size. However, this event falls under a six-fight deal struck by the MGM and Don King after Tyson's release from prison. For this reason, we won't apply site-fee income to this fight.

Not to worry: There are several other key sources of income.

There's the live gate. King has a deal with the MGM in which it keeps profits from tickets sold at the event. That's roughly $14 million.

Already, we're at $64 million.

There's overseas television, which Larkin said accounts for roughly 10 percent of gross revenues, say $5 million. Generally, foreign television officials purchase the rights to show the fight on free TV, although pay-per-view is beginning to take hold overseas.

We're at $69 million.

There's close-circuit television, which could earn King another $3 million as a secondary means of broadcast. And that's conservative.

We're at $72 million.

The revenue continues to roll in. Among other sources: merchandising and sponsors.

And, of course, there are expenses. The promoters have advertising and marketing costs and they have payrolls (including the other fighters on the card), all of which makes it difficult to pinpoint how much King and Showtime will ultimately walk away with.

Rest assured, they'll be satisfied.

``King has been doing this for 20, 30 years,'' Lane said. ``He knows what he's doing. He's not a dumb man, he's not a poor man. Somehow, someway Don King will make sure Don King gets his share at the end of the night.

``He'll have a smile as wide as anyone's.''

That's the way it is for those at the top of the boxing world.

CAPTION(S):

3 Photos, Box

Photo: (1--Color) Tyson

(2--Color) Holyfield

(3) Heavyweight champ Evander Holyfield works out with sparring partner Gary Bell in preparation for Saturday's title fight with Mike Tyson.

Associated Press

Box: tyson vs. holyfield