Does anybody have any insight into the financials behind saudi fights? Are they profitable?

They will be losing money I'm sure, but they are not in it to make a profit, they are looking long term. The goal isn't to ever make money from boxing it's to change how people view the country and turn it into a tourist hot spot by bringing big events like this to the country and draw in tourists.

They are spending a lot of their oil money to diversify their economy because they know the oil will eventually dry up. Based on current known oil reserves and if consumption remains the same we have about 47 years of oil left. So they are throwing money at the problem, it's why Qatar also got the world cup and got the world athletics championships. These oil countries see sporting events as a way to create tourism with the hope people who come first for the sport will return in following years.

 

Fury vs Ngannou tanked, dramatically.

In the lead up to the fight each of the pressers/face offs were down something like 50% from Fury’s fights against Wilder - YouTube data at the time validated that (I posted the SEO score and traffic data on here).

Post fight fish eyes kept the PPV number secret and avoided the subject altogether in interviews.

Joshua has always sold more than Fury, so consider the AJ vs Ngannou fight the financial offset for Fury’s disaster.

As @Brighton bomber mentioned above. They can take losses in the early stages of it means they become the Mecca for entertainment.

 

Whatever such an event costs , they earn that amount during lunch break from oil sales .

And the spending of goverment money is solely the decision of the crown prince - no need to push this funding thru a cabinet like in democratic countries .

So its peanuts for them and they not care if its profitable or not , they care that everybody thanks them and that everybody in the world says saudi arabia brings the ultimate boxing blockbusters the fans want to see and nobody before was able to arrange .

 

It's just a part of the whole sportswashing play these grubs are making. Sadly though, true fight fans are forced to partake because that is where the best fights are going to be made, more often than not going forward.

These oil scumbags don't give a **** though, they have that much money that losing a couple of hundred million on these events is nothing.

 

Good luck to them trying to make it a holiday destination when the wife might end up in jail for showing an ankle.

 

oil money is invincible

 

Spot on. It's like Ali in Zaire and the Philipines. Terrible despotic F*ckstick leaders trying to rehab their image without changing anything other than throwing a few big events. Difference being the Saudi's have deeper pockets than Mobutu and Marcos.

 

And fusion and electric cars will come

 

No idea why they think an unorganized sport like boxing is something to pursue. I understand golf cause you get the whole thing.
They are going to lose their ass of like HBO and Showtime if they keep throwing money at stupid matches like these Ngannou fights. Also throwing money at these fighters will only cause other fighter to demand the same money to fight there.

Right now they are bleeding money in my opinion. If this doesn't change they will give up too.

 

The Saudi family are trillionaires, if they wanted to they could give a billion to the top heavyweights for each fight and they wouldn't even feel it. The reason they don't do it is because they just don't want to give them the big money.

 

The Saudis have started up a baseball league filled with old retired ball players. No way are they going to make money on that venture.

 

Well it seems to be working tourism increased last year by 58%. Places like Dubai have become a destination for tourists despite their own draconian laws. No doubt there be areas for tourists where the rules are more lax such as allowing alcohol in hotel resorts.

Personally I have no desire to go to these places but it clear not everyone feels that way.

 

Good points.

 

for now.