7 weeks til Ward-Dirrell and still no site

it should ****ing be in detroit, ward has already had 2 of his matches in california no ****ing with this fight happens again in ca.

 

'Finding a site' isn't the issue, actually having anyone attending the fight is...

 

Should make them fight in europe! just like many suggested Froch vs AA should have been in US lol

 

Attendance means squat in America. That is definitely a non issue. The fight is going to be televised to millions. How is a fluctuating difference of one or two thousand in attendance going to hurt?

Besides, if attendance is important, it is an issue in Ward's hometown and Dirrell's hometown, not in any of the neutral sites being thrown out there. Trust me, things are different here. Very few people in each fighter's hometown even know who Ward and Dirrell are. This fight sells out in New York and sells out in Vegas, but hardly sells at all in Oakland or Detroit. It's all a big non issue. That's why they're not sweating it.

 

Would Ward-Dirrell sell in Europe? Froch-Abraham would sell in Vegas or New York, no problem.

 

Ward does 15k in Oakland, Dirrell does about 5k. So it should be Oakland, end of story.

 

Ward does 9k tops in Oakland.

 

is there an american fighter that can sell 15,000 in there home town?

 

No doubt, Oakland and Detroit just aren't two of those towns. People show up big and support their local fighters in certain parts of the country....Texas or Minnesota, for example. Cory Spinks sold 20,000 in his hometown of St. Louis. Other than areas like those, bigger fights are held in either New York or Las Vegas, regardless of where the fighters are from. Those cities are both very neutral for nearly any two fighters in the world. Those are different kinds of crowds though. The majority of them treat it more like a social event than a fight that they are attending, or even care about.

In the bay area, there's too much other **** going on coupled with a certain lack of interest anyway. In Detroit, they're just cold (I'm sure much less so in August) and broke all the time....oh, and with a slight lack of interest there as well.

 

i was sure that was the case... i dont remember where that was heard though...

i remember the first fightcamp 360 and Dan Goosen being absolute about Ward fighting in Oakland in all his fights and the other promoters being upset about it (who wouldnt?). Im not sure if there was a definitive resolution on that, but from what it looked like, the promoters were free to wheel and deal with each other collectively, behind closed doors.

Who knows how Goosen made things happen. Maybe he just said ward wont participate at all, or maybe agreed a cut into their purse in order to stay homeside - i dont know. But the determinations of hometown advantage had been made between the promoters, so fair is fair.

Now, seeing that basically every fighter had won their fight at their hometown up through the first two stages, the other promoters may have worked to change things up on Goosen, and rescind the decision or fight contract, since hometown advantage "seems" to be a charm in this tournament. Who knows...

 

it should be in oakland where ward can headbutt his way to a victory without being warned.

 

So four fighters who have never fought in Vegas before between them would 'sell out' in the town where Dawson v Tarver 1 sold 991 tickets?

How big of an elevator are you confident that they would fill?

 

Close enough. They'll still beat the hell out of 991, and millions around the world will still watch it. And having fought there or not in the past has zilch to do with it, kind sir.

 

Feel free to explain why you think Ward and Dirrell would attract more fans in Vegas (or New York) than they would in Oakland, when there is zero evidence as far as I can see for such a claim?

 

Vegas is a location that will draw fight fans because of the casinos, etc....

No idea if that is true for this fight. You used to be able to get cheap 'junkets' to Vegas that were partially subsidized by the gaming industry. They take a loss up front and pick your pockets for the rest.