PPV, good or bad for boxing ?

It is a hard proffession and it should be rewarded..... While I think (all) boxers deserve better as a group, I think (and many fans believe) some of them get too much $$$$ for what they display (or have displayed) as world class boxers or as entertainers in the ring.

I think your last statement about the $45.00 is a joke...... right???

 

Well, there's really 2 different "types" of ppv's.....

1. The "mega-event". These fights typically go to ppv because there is no other way to satisfy the purse demands of the fighters involved. Network tv is not going to pay $50 or $60 million for one boxing event, and the big PPV's have to be priced at $50 or so because almost half the money goes to the cable companies. The overhead for ppv is very high. But ppv is nothing new. It basically an upgraded version of "closed-circuit" that you can watch from your home.

2. The "fringe" ppv. These are shows like the Chavez Jr. cards, and Jones-Shieka, and the like. To me, PPV is a perfect outlet for these fights. It doesnt take away any dates or budgets from HBO, Showtime, etc., and still allows the die-hard fans of the specific fighters involved the opportunity to see the show if they arent able to see it in person. I see that people were already complaining about Jones-Lacy going to ppv, but that is exactly where it belongs. It doesnt use up an HBO date, and the true Jones or Lacy fans can still see the fight without having to fly to New Orleans, or wherever it is being held.

 

To add what I said before on this subject, I am all for fghters making all the money they pssibly can. No athlete deserves it more than fighters. But at the same time the PPV cards are getting too frequent to the point that what wasnt a PPV card 5-10 years ago is one now. I never want to miss any of the top fighters fight, but sometimes I have to now because I don't always have the cash to shell out for PPV and also I don't have the money to suscribe to both HBO and SHOTIME either. And I am not the only one either, so the audience is definitely shrinking. A good recent example is the past 3 scheduled fights for Kelly Pavlik, one of my favorites, were PPV cards, and the fight with Rubio in no way hould have been a PPV fight nor would have been years earlier, therefore I missed it.

 

So, basically it is about satisfying the demands of the boxers first and the demands of the fans after, right????? ....... so how did other MEGA FIGHTS hapened in the past???? Did the fighters forget about their purse??? or maybe the boxers are more greedy now...... or maybe the promoters are more greedy..... or what is it ???

 

Nope. Jones - Lacy shouldnt be a PPV main event.

It should be an undercard fight to a proper main event spectacle that fans care about. Thats why alot of undercards suck. These kind of fights dont generate enough attention on their own which is why the numbers suck. But add them to say Marquez - PBF, Haye - Klit, Hatton - Pac, Clottey - Cotto and you're putting together a card interesting matchups.

Thats the problem with PPV, everybody is trying to be in the spotlight.

Sometimes Egos need to be checked at the door.

 

I don't mind some fights being PPV but the quality of them has seriously decreased over the past few years.

 

What an idiotic comment. In fact those who pay for shitty PPV's (that is about 75% of them) deserve to die for ruining the sport.

 

Remember 'Judgement Night a few years ago??

We had:

Ronald Wright, Naz, Benn and Collins on the British bill followed by Akinwande, Botha, Moorer and of course Holyfield -Tyson. All on one night for a tenner!

Now we have to pay to watch Amir Khan and Matthew Hatton.

 

How would that be possible? Both Jones and Lacy are "self-promoted", so they dont have a promoter with a PPV to put the fight on. And why would GBP or Top Rank leave their own fighters off their ppv and waste a slot to put on 2 guys they dont even represent?

If Jones-Lacy does 30k or 40k buys, plus a halfway decent gate, then the show stands to take in the neighborhood of $500k give or take. It would make no sense for another promoter to pay $500k to add that fight to their ppv, because a good portion of those 30k or 40k buys would probably be buying the bigger show anyways, whether that fight was on it or not.......

 

Perhaps there should still be ppv buy ppv prices are a lot lower? IE instead of charging $50, they charge $25, and instead of drawing 1mil, they draw 2mil so nobody looses out but gains new fans.

Im sure its not that easy though. Boxing is a cult sport, few fans but hardcore fans willing to shell out some cash, and the promoters would like to squeeze as much as they can from them.

 

And there's the problem. Thats the one thing UFC has over boxing, because eall the fighters are under 1 banner, 1 promoter, and the fighters dont get paid as much, they can produce a full card.

 

Thats called a monopoly. It might be good for the promoter and the fans, but it certainly isnt good for the fighters...............

 

As I all ready said how can ot be good to hide the best fighters in the world behind extortion? You may as well pay to see the fight live!

 

As a whole ppv is not good for boxing at all. When Muhammad ali and George Foreman fought in 1974 more then 300 million people from around the world were watching. Now not even a quarter as many are watching the biggest fights