It should do, now that Beterbiev is better known I imagine that fight would sell quite well. ideally we need Buatsi and Smith to sort things out domestically for the right to face Beterbiev.
If Beterbiev wants to get paid well, he should fight Canelo. Eventhough he beats Bivol, Buatsi, Smith etc, he won't be paid well. Because nobody is interested in these light heavyweight fighters, no matter how good figthers they are. People are interested in big and popular names like Canelo, Fury, AJ etc.
It makes me wonder if Hearn is testing Beterbiev vs Smith to see if the time is right to try and get Canelo a win over Beterbiev.
@JunlongXiFan That's one possible scenario. Canelo is still 32. If they pay Beterbiev well, like $10M, and persuade him to take a dive in Canelo fight, it will revamp Canelo's legacy. They will continue to milk the cashcow for another 3 - 4 years. Beterbiev is Canelo's remedy.
Yarde, whatever. But for a man that is unified and holds 3 out of 4 belts in a division, that is a criminally small purse.
This is why I'm glad I'm no longer active in boxing. To think Floyd & Canelo can demand multi million purses for dancing around the ring like a drunken ballet dancer with internet celebrities or teenage kick boxers or never fighting without the assurance he cannot lose a decision while Beterbiev & Yarde take home a fraction of that for putting up an honest hard fought fight & risking their lives doing it. Ive been in & around Boxing all my life I never thought I'd ever miss a good honest fair fight but even though I could get in free, where would I find one ?? I can honestly say neither Floyd, Canelo, Ward etc have earned 2 cents from me. I'll watch WWE they dont pretend its really a combat sport but just entertainment. You know who's going to win
The main promoters play similar fighters similar ways, for instance Nico Ali Walsh and Campbell Hatton are getting the same treatment. It's just that Arum has a strong pipeline of talent from Mexico. With no amateur background you can't trust that they'll take care of business against a journeyman who pulls out a few tricks so protecting them doesn't make a lot of sense. Plus the audience loves the style but isn't really attached to any particular guy. When Bob had a hype-able American in Berlanga he fed him guys to keep the KO1 streak alive and the judges have been very friendly to him. He's basically living the PBC lifestyle.
Not sure why boxing hasn't been able to stars out of Beterbiev, aren't half the big names in MMA Chechen?