Froch v Groves 1 million PPV's - Are the Americans ready to take the plunge?

OK. So we have this big problem, or rather did have, regarding US boxing stars and their promoters/shows coming to the UK. It was deemed not feasible by many across the pond for a number of reasons, mostly the time difference. All that changed this past weekend with Froch and Groves’ record-breaking sequel. Much has been made of the staggering 80, 000 crowd at Wembley, and rightly so, but according to reports in the UK this week, their rematch attracted a mind-boggling 1 million pay-per-views on SKY Box Office. That puts it in the bracket of Hatton’s unforgettable night with Mayweather back in 2007.

Much like when Mayweather dethroned the popular Mancunian on that winter night, we were told it was a one-off, it would never be bettered. But it has, again. I think it is time the US paymasters seriously sat down and thought the whole British/overseas thing through. Mayweather v Khan would probably just break a million PPV’s in the US, a healthy figure nonetheless, but what if they were to strike a deal with Showtime to split the PPV revenue using BOTH the UK and US revenue. Like actually combining the two. Why not? The time difference issue is alleviated with some seriously healthy cash.

A few tweaks here and there with the infrastructure and we could see Khan and Mayweather break the 3 million mark, it is that big of a bout and it would compensate for the dwindling figures stateside. It’s not a major problem, but let’s be honest, Mayweather is running out of options and one can only ponder how many of the American boxing fraternity were watching in awe as London hosted the hottest ticket in town. With the co-operation of TFL, Brent Council and the FA, boxing at Wembley could literally become a major worldwide attraction. THE place to be for boxing. British fans are massively passionate and for too long it has not been capitalised on. Hearn is the man right now and I would imagine he is looking at some big options here. Can you imagine how big Haye v Chisora would have been with Hearn in place of Frank? - It would have been a 100K event, no doubt. As a businessman, you have to sit down after Saturday and think lets up the ante. It is not out of the realms of possibility.

Mayweather rolls out the UK rhetoric every time he is due over here but I suspect he and Al Haymon are now genuinely looking at this and thinking what the potential is. Why do we have to please 1 million Showtime viewers in the US when 2 million of them are sitting right here with another 100K+ fans in attendance? And so what if the American audience has to clock off work at 1700. We do it every few months for big fights. 5am to watch Pacquiao in China. 4am to watch any decent Vegas card. The figures are absolutely mind-boggling if you think of the potential spend among each domestic boxing fan. This is not exaggerating either. A major shift in power has just occurred at Golden Boy, we appear to be slowly moving forward, but over here Hearn has already done a fabulous job with not just last weekend’s fight, but boxing in general. It is on the causal agenda right now and I just feel we should strike while the iron is hot. Joshua, Mitchell, Deale, Froch those kind of guys can become big names in the UK, but you add a bit of American glamour and, as I said before, sit down with the relevant parties, then the numbers speak for themselves. Business is business and being a British boxing fan right now is an exciting place to be. But trust me, if Mayweather sees sense, and comes to the UK for a clash with Khan, then I guarantee you Froch v groves 2 will be like small fry. It would be absolutely huge.

Question is, are the Americans willing to capitalise and bring boxing here. They should have done it when Hatton was big, but Froch has just opened the door to the mainstream masses and who knows when an opportunity like this will come by again?...