Ward has never been a big draw and Kovalev could have been but he got exposed by Ward for how overrated he really is.
Kovalev did not get exposed at all, he got cheated by crooked judges in the first fight and was cheated by the damned criminal referee in the rematch...................Kovalev fought for free while SOB got all the money as usual, SOB did nothing but cheat as he always has, buying off the judges, referee and boxing commission.....................
If Kovalev was exposed as being overated what does that say about Ward? He was outboxed in their first fight and was imo anyway 5-2 down at the time of the stoppage.....doesn't bode well for this alleged P4P elite level boxer now does it?
I wouldn't want to pay for a rigged fight either... I think the idea that controversy creates profitable rematches should be off the table now.
The number of actual tickets sold was actually 6,336, so Kovalev might be able to afford a certified pre-owned Volkswagen Golf once the money's settled.
That's more than Ward usually sells for his fights so that's an improvement lol. Fact is being a Ward fan is practically a form of self torture, despite his clear P4P skills than man is a marketing nightmare. He will never be a draw, he says the wrong things, does the wrong things and has no clue to how this taints fans view of him. I'll be shocked if he gets another decent payday. What are his options now? Stevenson isn't happening or even being discussed due to Roc Nation and Haymon's animosity towards each other, chasing Bellew is a pipe dream, Bellew has better more lucrative options and Ward will demand too much even if Bellew wants it. We **** on Wilder for being a crap draw but he sold almost double for his fight against Washington. If Ward can only sell 6-7K for the biggest fight of his career it says a lot about is lack of marketability. Sublime skills but couldn't draw for ****.
No question that Kovalev's marketability took a massive dive after these two fights. Not only did he lose twice, but he also proved to every network executive that he can't pull in crowds or PPV buyers. Even Ward comes out of this as damaged goods because he didn't rise to the occasion and use these fights to display a smarter marketing campaign for his own brand. He won the fights, but he didn't win any fans over. He talked down to the fans and to the media and basically always becomes defensive when the media asks him a critical question. He's not approachable by fans and I don't see how Ward will ever become a big money maker in the sport.
Show what happens when you have no fan base. Ward has his fans in Oakland, but I guess Vegas is too far for them. Poor Kovalev really has no fan base except maybe for some Russians living over here. Shame that is what boxing has come to, but if you don't have the fan base you are nobody. But there is always hope, Floyd went from having not being able to draw flies to poop to being the biggest ppv star ever. It's just marketing, timing and luck.
The only thing that's criminal about this is your insanity. He lost a close fight the first one and in the other he got rocked by bodyshots, rocked by a headshot, was gassed and then a 3 bodyshots and 1 lowblow sealed the deal.
