Whyte V Povetkin £19.95!

Discussion in 'British Boxing Forum' started by Glenn McKrory, Aug 8, 2020.



  1. Matthew240

    Matthew240 Member Full Member

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    I don't mind the concept of PPV at all for the elite fights and fighters. Its a dangerous sport and its good to see fighter's get well re-numerated for their efforts. I just don't see how Whyte has ended up as some big PPV fighter off of the back of one decent punch in the second round v AJ.
     
  2. Dragon Punch

    Dragon Punch Boxing Addict Full Member

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    The PPV no’s for this are going to be absolutely shocking.
     
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  3. dryzer

    dryzer Active Member Full Member

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    Fingers crossed
     
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  4. Degale

    Degale Active Member Full Member

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    I am buying it
     
  5. Jurgen

    Jurgen Pay Per Pudding Advisor banned Full Member

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    Leave your curtains open
     
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  6. I Shot JR

    I Shot JR Boxing Junkie Full Member

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    I’ll be watching the Channel 5 card instead.

    I suspect this does ok numbers but what on earth Hearn does after this without fans in stadiums is unclear. Even at half capacity would he be able to put on Joshua/Pulev? It’s not going to be viable to host boxing in indoor venues for a long time.
     
  7. CutThroatFade

    CutThroatFade Rangers FC Full Member

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    Boxers will have to take purse cuts. It's happened in football. Loads of clubs, especially in Scotland, have asked players and managers to take wage cuts and deferrals. Quite simply, if we can't have fans in arenas and stadiums say for 12 months, either Joshua will have to forgo fighting or accept a lower than usual purse.

    What I'm sure will happen is that the top fights will just be sold to Saudi again who will pay the exorbitant purses regardless of whether fans are allowed or not.
     
  8. carlingeight

    carlingeight Active Member Full Member

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    It's clear as day what Hearn is aiming for here, and every boxing fan should be annoyed with it. It's all about marginalising boxing as a sport, and steering it more towards 'entertainment'. Much the same as how WWE is classed as sports entertainment.

    Look at the BBC boxing page right now - https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/boxing. Few articles down we see 'This is an event, not just a boxing show'... the EXACT angle Hearn is going for.

    He knows if you start talking about boxing as a sport, there's no way to justify £20 for Whyte vs Povetkin. It's impossible to twist it even for him.
     
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  9. TonyHayers

    TonyHayers Well-Known Member banned Full Member

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    But how do those clubs survive? You say it's a p*ss take for St Johnstone to charge fans to watch them via a stream. Where does the money come from? They can't have anyone through the gate, which means they're seeing what, somewhere in the region of forty grand go missing every other week.

    You wouldn't expect a pub or a restaurant to offer free food and drink to all customers but still operate. How could they? Likewise how are football clubs like the ones mentioned going to survive if nobody is putting any cash into the club? Should the players just play for free?
     
  10. TonyHayers

    TonyHayers Well-Known Member banned Full Member

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    Boxing's always been a bit like that though. The biggest fights aren't necessarily the best fights.

    It's a bit like football. Man Utd aren't the best team in the country, but more people want to watch them than anyone else. People get annoyed because Whyte is on PPV but they miss the point; he's on PPV because enough people buy his fights to make that the best financial position for him to be in.
     
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  11. carlingeight

    carlingeight Active Member Full Member

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    You'll have to point out some of the Dillian Whytes of 30 years ago who were PPV 'stars'.

    And I think it's you missing the point again. I've heard you say this stuff before.. just because by nook or by crook they manage to sell PPVs does not mean that it's ok, or that it's good for the sport. The boxing should speak for itself.. yeah add a bit of glitz and glamour and drama around it, sure. Mayweather did this.. but he also happened to be a generational talent.

    When the 'event' becomes bigger than the sport, we have a problem. When fighters can earn millions without challenging themselves against the best, we have a problem. And never before has this been perpetuated quite like we're seeing from Mr E Hearn.
     
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  12. TonyHayers

    TonyHayers Well-Known Member banned Full Member

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    In the last few years Joshua has ended up a multiple world champion before he had twenty fights, Froch fought Ward, Bute, Groves and Kessler in quick succession, Bellew fought Usyk, Brook fought Golovkin, Porter and Spence, Campbell fought Lomachenko. In what way is Hearn representative of a promoter who's fighters don't want to challenge the best?

    As for Whyte, he's fought Joshua, been desperate to fight and ultimately avoided like the plague by Wilder, and instead fought Parker, Rivas and now Povetkin. It's not like he's ticking along have stay busy fights against Tom Schwarz.

    A far bigger issue for the growth of the sport were the days when you had Calzaghe and Hatton holding lightly regarded titles and endlessly defending them against mismatched opposition.
     
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  13. Jurgen

    Jurgen Pay Per Pudding Advisor banned Full Member

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    Good post mate
     
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  14. Momus

    Momus Boxing Addict Full Member

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    The fusion between fighting and entertainment has always existed, long before PPV. As long as the fights are on the level, I don't see it as a big issue. It's quite a leap to get from Fight Camp to WWE style worked fights.

    Ultimately, no amount of sizzle can compensate for a steak that tastes like ****. It's self-regulating in that sense, and people will not keep on paying if the action in the ring doesn't deliver.

    I think we just need to accept that Dillian Whyte is a PPV attraction, and will shift decent numbers against most recognised top 20 fighters. It doesn't have to make sense (I honestly don't get it either), but the guy has a fanbase who will throw money at his fights. He's far from the first non-elite fighter to be a big attraction.

    Boxing has gone through a lot of things that could and perhaps should have finished it off - ring deaths live on television, corruption and fight-fixing scandals, alphabet proliferation etc. I don't think a few fights in Eddie Hearn's oversized back garden is something for fans to worry too much about.
     
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  15. Momus

    Momus Boxing Addict Full Member

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    PPV didn't exist then (at least not in the UK), but Bruno, Cooper, Woodcock etc would all have been shifting PPVs if it had been around, without exactly being elite heavyweights.