ESPN is in approximately 98 million households in the States. HBO is in around 15 million. This is huge for the sport of Boxing.
:stir I agree.. the marketing is not good.. What I dont get are some guys here that are kinda giving Vitali and Gomez crap for being on ESPN... look at the big picture... this is GREAT for boxing and we should ALL be very happy and supportive.
It was closer to 100K if I remember. Which is why it was considered a colossal failure. I admit I may be thinking of another Vitali PPV.
Good point, Rico. We get it here in DR. As in other countries, they probably got ESPN, too. I hope the word gets out.LOL
An insult? Based on your perception? I'm fairly positive if Vitali thought it was an insult, he would not have agreed.
Paying for footage may be more than ESPN is willing to pay. Nor am I reaching when ESPN passed on Cunningham/Adamek because it didn't fit their budget at that point (and Adamek is a big ratings getter). I doubt they have the cash to pay for all the sh*t that comes with hyping a fight (including buying the air time to advert it). As per Vitali getting high ratings...that was how long ago? If Showtime or HBO thought he could replicate that, they would've picked this up easily. On top of that boxing wasn't in a pit 6 feet deep like it is now. Vitali and Juan Carlos Gomez combined aren't a hot ticket like Lennox Lewis was. The fact is Showtime didn't do so hot with Vitali/Peter and Juan Carlos Gomez is a veritable mainstream nobody. Also on the ratings bit, AGAIN I re-iterate...it cannot compete with March Madness. Why spend unneccessary money when the return won't be there? Not to mention you got the WBC taking up air time. For one, Fox Sports and ESPN are seperat entities. ESPN would need to put Vitali and Juan Carlos Gomez on something like the ESPN Hot Seat or one of their smaller "Who Cares" shows. ON TOP of that, you've got two guys who may not grasp english well. I know Vitali is so-so but he's not riveting. I don't have a clue if Juan Carlos Gomez can speak english (which shows how marketed he is) so there's a chance that will bomb. The best way to advertise would be to show some footage...and they'd have to pay for that.
I think a lot of us are somewhat missing the point. It's really not completely ESPN's job to market these fighters, or the fights. The people who need to be held a little more accountable are the managers and promoters, who do little to promote a lot of these guys. If boxing had half the marketing machine of the UFC, it would be on top of the world. Especially with all the good, young fighters out there today. The problem starts way before ESPN gets involved. I, for one, am very happy to be able to see the fight. Regardless if there is one commercial for it or not.
I want to see how Teddy Atlas treats Vitali. Atlas is full of hate, and always pick against the Klitschko's. Might he change his tune if ESPN thinks they can broadcast another Klitschko fight? This is the best live heavyweight fight on ESPN in the past ten years. I hope the fans come out, and Vitlai doesn't end it early so ESPN can air a few comericals and get theri monies worth. On second thought Gomez is a bit of a punk. A 1st round Ko will do.
I heard Atlas is picking Vitali to win, he must really not think much of Gomez I guess.:yep ESPN shocked me when I heard not only Vitali/Gomez was going to be there, but Peter/Chambers as well. To me it shows their at least trying to get the Heavyweight division back to the mainstream again. I hope both fights are exciting, and dont look anything like Wlad/Iggy or it will be looked at as a huge failure to the average fans. I dont see Gomez doing that well against Vitali, whose a supreme fighter even the age of 37. He did to Peter what his brother wasn't even close to doing, that is beating Peter every round and making him quit in his corner. Gomez is more skilled than Samuel, but his chin and power are nowhere near as good or as proven as Peter's. This fight wont go long, look for Vitali to hurt Gomez early, maybe even floor him. After that I see Gomez fighting catious after that, but will find himself in trouble again in the 4th or 5th round where Vitali will end it with his signature straight right hand.
I've been involved in a couple business ventures related to boxing, with some fairly big names, mostly younger guys and I am shocked by some of the answers I get to simple questions, like: "Does XXX have a public relations person?" "What do you do to promote XXX when he's not fighting?" "Does XXX have a website?" "Where can I see footage of XXX fighting?" It is amazing to hear how little some of these guys get marketed to the public. Now, let's be clear, there are some people out there that are really good at it, but the vast majority leave a lot to be desired.
Because Vitali Klitschko as a "World Champion":nut is only slightly less popular than Rupaul and his new Drag Queen Reality Show.
They are bagging on them for not having the status to be on HBO or Showtime...it's ok, that's true...but that is what's making it possible to be on ESPN, and like we are saying, that is great.