I am happy with that, if it leads to a true economic revolution. But just punishing boxers is of the table for me, even when part of the side effects of boxers wealth is the likes of Hearn making a ton of underserved money too.
You do give a very good example, but continuing with niche-ish sports, I would counter with the BDO darts. That has been a disaster for years, in part because of a lack of a decent TV platform. And what is worse they look at the PDC (I know, Matchroom too) and see the advantages of good governance, where even in the present circumstances prize many has not been cut. Cooperation's do indeed have their place in boxing finances, but that aspect of finance of the sport is slipping, due in part to the people who watch the sport, not being the sort of people they want to advertise too. I cannot foresee a new model that will not just stabilise the finances, but fill the gap left by the removal of PPV.
When you have Eddie hearn trying justify it by saying its 20 quid for the Tyson vs Jones exhibition and they are losing money as no fans , so for a extra 5 pounds u get aj in a world title fight , End of the day hearn and aj have made millions from loyal fans and this isn't wilder fury or even a hard fight , this is a poor defence. They should have seen bigger picture said to aj no fans so both matchroom and him take a small hit , drop the price say 10 pounds or somewhere that range and would get more buys overall but as always with hearn sheer greed.
Pulev just never excited me much. Even though hes a top 10 fighter I could probably think of 30 guys I'd rather see AJ fight.
If you want to support the sport, have you though about getting behind some of the free streams put on by promoters? Supporting those events with your time, attention and eyes? I'm not saying you don't but supporting those types of cards (MTK, A-Sign, RCC Etc) might be a way to support promoters for giving cards for free, and potentially improving their viewerships, attention and negotiating position for sponsorship rather than playing Eddie's game
With it being a mandatory Eddie didn't need to stump up super big money for the bout under the guise of a super fight. Could have let it go to bids and paid the market value, or let Pulev's team fork out the money for it. The bout could be in Pulev's home, with his wife as the referee, and 3 or Pulev's mates as judges it wouldn't matter Joshua would still poleaxe him.
You wouldn't need a "new model to finance the sport" at all. ALL of these fighters have fought without PPV before, most of their fights for most of them. Didn't Pulev fight Hughie Fury on Channel 5 just a couple of years ago? Wladmir Klitschko isn't wanting for money and fought professional for 21 years, and his bread and butter was non-PPV audience in Germany. Oh, and he's far more accomplished that Dereck ****ing Chisora, Tony ****ing Bellew or whatever other chump you want to "value" as PPV-worthy.
The German model the Klits fought under, was similar to the UK in the 80s, it relied on big Network TV support. I do not see ITV or the BBC coming back to the sport at the very top to give free fights anytime soon. I would loved to be proved wrong, but I am fairly certain I will not be. At the moment, and indeed for the medium term the PPV model is the path UK boxing will work at the top level.
Mate, by all means DM info like that but don’t post it. You’ll get a ban and you could play a part in grassing up a decent place to row the boat.
If anybody wants a laugh .... Take a look at Sky's article of 2015 for their Matchroom deal... https://www.skysports.com/boxing/ne...om-extend-their-exclusive-boxing-deal-to-2021 Kell Brook vs Frankie Gavin PPV incoming... Other than the 'free to air' women's boxing last week, do Sky not pay Matchroom to pay their fighters to fight without PPV on Sky now ? Where exactly is that money!?
You'd think that with all the multi millions (billions?) that SKY pay out for Prem Footy as a part of their standard Sports Package, that they could easily find the £10m that Joshua wants and therefore, as with the footy, show all fights for free. PPV is a frickken joke and it even ain't funny. At a time when we should be encouraging people to watch all sports, the companies are excluding a very high % from doing so. Classic way to both alienate and lose the interest of many fans if they cannot afford to view the fight (not everyone has the ability to angle). I am no fan of Warren but I 100% congratulate him for this coming Saturday with Dubois v Joyce. Domestic or not, it is a great fight, the best domestic match up since Fowler v Fitzgerald in 2019. Smith and Hearn need to wake up to the reality of Britain today. I hope Dec 12th bombs as a PPV. (AJ win by KO within 6).