Rubbish undercard for Kahn PPV on Sky

kind of depends on how desperate you are for watching boxing. i'd love to watch all of the fights on the bill, but i only tend to splash out on a ppv for big big events (hatton-mayweather and hatton-pacman were my last two) - i haven't paid for a warren ppv since he came back to sky.

and friday fight nights have been so poor and low key recently that some of the matchups on this show appear to be almost ppv worthy in comparison.

if i was flush, i'd buy it. but i'm not at the moment, and even though its only 15 quid its an avoidable cost and i will find another means to watch it.

 

Ok without been flash... i'm as skint as the next man but £15 isn't a great deal IMO however my point is the principle.

1996
Bruno Vs Tyson 2
Plus good undercard

1997
Collins Vs Benn 1-2 plus Tyson fights including Holyfield

1998

Naz plus decent american card
Calzaghe etc

Lewis title reign starts..... Brilliant value for money UK cards including Clinton Woods, Paul Ingle, etc etc......

1999-2002- The odd Naz fight in the states, Some Lennox Lewis.......

2002- last year- Odd mega fights here and there involving De La Hoya, Mayweather, Pacuiaoq whateva, etc etc

Last year-

Khan Vs ***an
Khan Vs Prescott
Khan Vs Barrera
And now Khan Vs Kotelnik

And no-one on here finds it mildly insulting that we are charged for this tosh. I respect all fighters, what I don't respect are the greedy ****s who are ruining my sport.

Do something about it vote with your feet.

 

The whole concept of PPV takes the **** when you are already paying a subscription, but that's the way it is.

I'm not really a hardcore boxing fan so until I saw this thread I only knew about the Khan fight so wouldn't have bought it but now I definitely will.

Khan - Exciting to watch, epecially with that chin of his.

Enzo - Last chance saloon, up against a banger, plus he is local fighter to me.

Brook - The few times I've seen him he has been good to watch.

Olympians - The only one I've really seen so far is Sutherland, so it will be good to watch these.

Then you've got Small V Hall, I'm not even sure who these guys are (Is Small the one who was going to fight Rhodes?) but from the comments on here it sounds a good match up. So to me well worth the £15.

 

Jeff

I totally agree with all this. I remember the days you used to get 2 or 3 world title/world class fights from the U.K. then cross to the States for 3 or 4 more. I didn't mind the money for that sort of night. The problem is that those such as you or I who have seen this know how badly we ae being ripped off for the crap they throw at us at the moment. The newer generation of boxing fan is only used to the ripoffs and so it appears reasonable.

I worry that the sport is going exactly the same way as football. It's give an inch and take a mile syndrome. If people are willing to pay for genuine top class cards then fine, but then they'll move onto charging for mediocre cards and then complete dross. It's the way the market economy works. This means that the people in boxing get better and better paid (usually the promoters, executives and top level fighters, the middle or lower level guys get sod all) while the fans are forking out more and more to subsidise it. The only way to stop it is, as you say, to vote with your feet. Hence the only PPV card I have bought this year was Hatton-Pac, the rest I have just caught later or on repeat or the net.

 

I think its a pretty good card but its still a bit of a slap to the face to put the fights on PPV especially when your already subscribing to sky and its a bit harsh on the fans when you put it on PPV in this economic climate as it is just now.

 

You have a point.

And imo its a very good point.

 

[quote="TKO";4417412]Jeff

I totally agree with all this. I remember the days you used to get 2 or 3 world title/world class fights from the U.K. then cross to the States for 3 or 4 more. I didn't mind the money for that sort of night. The problem is that those such as you or I who have seen this know how badly we ae being ripped off for the crap they throw at us at the moment. The newer generation of boxing fan is only used to the ripoffs and so it appears reasonable.

I worry that the sport is going exactly the same way as football. It's give an inch and take a mile syndrome. If people are willing to pay for genuine top class cards then fine, but then they'll move onto charging for mediocre cards and then complete dross. It's the way the market economy works. This means that the people in boxing get better and better paid (usually the promoters, executives and top level fighters, the middle or lower level guys get sod all) while the fans are forking out more and more to subsidise it. The only way to stop it is, as you say, to vote with your feet. Hence the only PPV card I have bought this year was Hatton-Pac, the rest I have just caught later or on repeat or the net.[/quote]:goodI'm not a negative person at all but I know when liberties are being taken. The whole Khan PPV thing is a sham. He is simply not mandatory viewing yet. I probably wouldn't check a khan fight result till early sunday if it wasn't thrust in my face so much.

A 50-50 British title fight is friday night viewing - not ppv.... And unproven olympians PPV material???? Its ****ing laughable, in 1996 would you have paid to watch Robin Reid, Woodhall and co? Would you bollocks.

I'm not tight. This isn't about money as such... its about the future of boxing.

Warren scours the net, I know. I'm sure he has read one or two of my opinions in the past and I don't mind him.... he comes across like a fair chap.... however this PPV nonsense needs to stop. He's killing the sport.

I went to an unlicenced boxing show last night. Some of the lads had been training for 4 weeks according to their coaches. It was more entertaining and well matched then a couple of small hall shows i've been to this year.

With the threat of UFC hanging over our sport like a executioners axe someone important needs to wake up and do something about it. Either the BBBC or one of the major promoters need to sort it before its too late.... I've watched the sport decline and I'm telling you it is on the road to failiure.

Tell me an active world star in the ascendancy who the general public will have heard of?

None.

Not even Pacman.

Boxing must change its methods and fast..... UFC is taken over and for good reason. Incredibly well matched, action packed (!!) cards. As a spectacle I find it poor but they are feeding on the shite that greedy promoters have force fed boxing fans for years.

They've turned every UFC into a near unmissable event and have done it by delivering value for money shows to the fans.

UFC is a hot prospect right now and I know that eventually they will get greedy like they have done in boxing and it will begin to decline, but this won't happen for at least another five years or so....

At this rate I predict by 2015 boxing is no more.... or at least devalued as such to make it no longer a main stream sport.

The greatest sport of them all sat behind golf, bowling and ****ing tennis (which seems to borrow every piece of text it can form our great sport),

If you want to see this carry on attending these mediocre shows.

Carry on letting sky feed us crap shows that you fast forward through on sky plus

Carry on allowing governing bodies to form and generate more titles

Carry on supporting unknown immigrant fighters to tackle our prospects so they can build inflated ??-0 records.

Carry on turning a blind eye to the once brilliant and bustling area level scene.

Carry on encouraging our amateurs to learn how to fence rather then fight.

Carry on buying these PPV shows.

I'm telling you what is happening, something needs to be done... if it isn't best learn how to enjoy MMA because boxing is behind on points, with one eye closed and the referee looking close to stepping in Micky Vann style from another sports network style flurry.

 

Warren is a businessman first and a being a boxing fan is a distant and mutually exclusive second. He is only interested in his business making money by keeping his fighters undefeated and generating more and more money for those involved, including the boxers. We all know that most boxers don't make the megabucks like the Hattons and Calzaghes of this world but they can make a decent living by being "well matched". The biggest issue is that everyone in this little club is content. The sancioning bodies, the promoters, the trainers and even the boxers. They all make money. We know, they know... hell, deep down, even the paying public know. I've paid money to watch mismatches and I don't exactly think of myself as one who buys into hype. As a 17/18 year old, I wanted to watch Calzaghe in action. I was prepared to fork out relatively huge sums of money at the time to do so. What did I get in return? Two rounds against Branco Sobot and 90 seconds against Mario Veit. Was I happy? At the time, yes. I got to see Calzaghe blasting away a world class opponent, or so I was told they were by Warren at the time. I didn't have a ****ing clue who Veit and Sobot were but they were highly ranked and had decent records. Fans are gathered by momentum and the Hatton bandwagon is a prime example of that. The bigger the public profile, the bigger the draw he is on TV and at the gate. Bruno was never the best boxer in the world but he packed out venues and got massive TV audiences because he transcended the sport.

Khan is going the same way. Khan is the modern British Asian, an almost political figure and shining sporting beacon of the new Britian. His bandwagon is firmly on the move and cannot be stopped. I remember speaking to a co-worker 2 years ago before Calzaghe-Kessler when I asked him for the weekend of the fight off so I could go to Cardiff.

"Doing anything nice?" he asked
"Going back home to catch up with some friends and watch the boxing"
"Ah! Who's fighting?"
"Joe Calzaghe"
"Oh.... I've only really know Amir Khan and Ricky Hatton of the boxers nowadays"

Whatever you think of Calzaghe and other boxers who don't have the personality or charisma of Haye, you've got no chance of getting the publicity in the media you deserve to get boxing in the back pages for the right reasons.

I don't think it's as much boxing's problem as a sign of the times. Boxing has the history and stories that UFC can only dream of. Boxing will always be there in some shape or form but the dodgy matchmaking is not going to change unless someone busts open the cartel that the likes of Warren run in cahoots with... well... the WBO.

Enough people will buy the Khan PPV because the positive publicity generated is infectious amongst casual foootball type supporters. People are looking for a working class sport to replace the 23 days a year we have without football and ah, what the hell, it's only a one off payment of £12... or whatever it is.

I haven't bought a Khan PPV because I hate the idea of lining Warren's pockets any further so I shall be viewing it online on an illegal stream because I'd still like to watch it.

 

i read a very good article in the states recently regarding ppv and what i belive to be hbos attitude to it.
it was clear they recognise boxing is currently at a low with regards to the publics interest and as jeff mentioned the rise in popularity of ufc it states that hbo have only had one fighter on ppv all year to date namely pacman and will not be going down the ppv very often or not at all this year instead they have identified half a dozen or so fighters that they will put on prime time in an attempt to build interest they included froch and dawson they want fighters to excite the public by taking high risk exciting fights and build up a profile on non ppv primetime and earn the right to become ppv.
with regards to the khan fight being on ppv i belive people have been so starved of a quality card for months they are willing to part with there money more out of desperation than desire, i for one wont be paying for it as im anti sky instead i will be tuning into my hd quality stream online which costs me the same for 6months as it does for one khan ppv event i m not anti ppv i will gladly pay for a quality event and invite friends over but this isnt a quality ppv