I'd be surprised if the numbers were confirmed to be that high but if true it bodes well for Ward and the eventual showdown with Kovalev. This number if true is significantly higher than anything he's done on HBO before. He did 1.3 million against Dawson at the peak of his career, to do 300K more now after such a long period of inactivity and poor opposition is a big surprise.
And this was only his third appearance on HBO. I doubt it did that well but it might hint that he did do good numbers.
numbers, who cares? i'm just glad hbo actually showed a fight again. they should have one fight a month, all year long.