Beyond legacy and accomplishments, fighters step into the ring and risk their lives to earn a living. But what happens when they don’t receive the money they’re owed—and the government shows up to collect instead, conveniently calling it tax? Well, you need only look at the life of boxing legend Joe Louis. Now, former UFC fighter and current BKFC champion Mike Perry knows that scenario all too well.

‘Platinum’ Perry recently took to X to share his ordeal, one he says has nearly pushed him into retirement because of a massive tax bill. According to Perry, the issue stems from an accounting error made by his financial managers involving the payday from the biggest fight of his career—his showdown with Jake Paul last year. So what exactly went wrong?

Mike Perry shows off the biggest robbery in sports

In a post on X on Tuesday, Perry shared a photo revealing an astonishing $800,000 tax bill, $806K to be precise. He insisted he’s far from rich and blamed the situation on his accountants, who he says failed to set aside enough money from his Jake Paul fight purse. “Biggest robbery in sports, my tax bill, you’d think I was rich [get the f—k out of here],” Perry wrote in the post.

“All was planned and in place by the tax team in Miami,” he added. “A ball was dropped on my assets. I trained all those years, I took the punches, I bled, and the country gets the credit. You’re welcome, [shaking my head].” In the comments, when a fan asked how long the bill covered and how much he had saved, Perry’s response raised even more concern.

“1 year, a little over a mil saved, that’s what hurt me, but 37% is 629k, so something is off,” he replied. Mike Perry replaced Mike Tyson in July last year to face Jake Paul and lost. Since then, he’s competed twice in BKFC, reportedly earning $600,000 in his bout against Thiago Alves. ‘Platinum’ also owns a portion of the BKFC, which he could lose if the tax is not paid back.

He may try negotiating with the tax authorities or exploring payment plans, asset liquidation, and other options, though that remains up to him. However, it appears he’s considering a very different route entirely.

Perry is ready to retire and spend time in prison

Since his initial post on X, Mike Perry has offered even more details about the mess surrounding his tax bill. “I’m retiring, though,” Perry lamented on his Overdogs podcast. “I did it. I’m done. They’re not letting me be rich. They were like, ‘Oh, you thought you [were] rich, give us everything you have.’ I was like ‘Wow’. Now was supposed to be the time I was supposed to have the money.”

He went on to reveal that his money managers only recently located the money from his Jake Paul fight. “Somebody dropped the ball. My accountant goes, ‘Hey Mike, we just saw the Jake Paul money.’ B—, what do you mean you just saw it? It’s been there…,” he continued his rant. “I’m ready to sell everything, take all of it out of the bank, hide it, and either go to prison for a little bit or just get off the grid.”

At this point, it’s unclear whether the issue with the IRS has been resolved or if Perry will still be forced to pay the full amount due to the accounting mistake. The full picture of what will happen next remains unclear. What do you make of all this?