IS THERE A PPV MARKET FOR MAYWEATHER-McGREGOR?
By Ralph Rimpell
PhilBoxing.com
Sat, 08 Oct 2016
Any Boxing Promoter knows that Pay Per View (PPV) is where the ?true money is at?. When it comes to PPV, the ?sky is the limit?. It?s just a matter of understanding the current demographics, knowing what the public demands are, and getting the powers that be to ?greenlight? a proposed fight.
The Promoter also needs the right combination of fighters. As an example, an exciting ?hot prospect? who built his records on the US Cable networks ESPN Fights (1981-1998) & ESPN2 ?Friday Night Fights? (1998-2015), or the popular USA cable channel boxing show, ?Tuesday Night Fights? (a weekly popular boxing broadcast from 1982-1998) were able to showcase themselves to boxing fans as they continued to win fights. While these shows were rumored to cost their respective networks a substantial amount of money, they nonetheless had a cult following and kept boxing relevant even more so after networks such as NBC, ABC, and CBS stop broadcasting boxing for free on their networks. The fans liked the fighters so much that when these fighters were offered ?big fights? on HBO or Showtime the same fans of the smaller networks tuned in often telling their friends, families or associates about these fighters. So when these fighters graduated to PPV, it?s no wonder PPV sales were very good.
ATTENTION ALL BOXING PROMOTERS THIS ADVICE IS FREE
PPV history teaches that there is generally one or two PPV ?cash cow or cows? that will headline PPV with a good opponent. Going back to closed circuit TV, the precursor of PPV, Sugar Ray Leonard was that ?cash cow? because he had penetrated the ?mainstream? audience. That?s why top fighters like Hearns, Duran, Hagler, Pryor, and McCallum ALL wanted to fight him.
After Leonard the next ?mainstream? fighter was Mike Tyson. When Tyson went to jail, Evander Holyfield and George Foreman became ?mainstream? fighters as well. When Tyson was released, the ?mainstream? was still interested in him. As these fighters were closer to retirement, Oscar De La Hoya became ?the man? in terms of PPV. Towards the end of Oscar?s career he fought both Mayweather and Pacquiao. These two men are the current ?cash cows? of PPV only when they have the right opponent. The record speaks for itself. When the two fought, their fight grossed the most money and had the most sales (4,600,000) in PPV history.
Instead of a rematch or giving the public the other fights they dream of or demand, they have done the opposite. As a result, PPV sales and revenue is on a decline. The fans have been fed:
Mayweather-Berto- 400,000 PPV Sales
Pacquiao-Bradley III ? 400,000 PPV Sales
In order to change that, Mayweather and Pacquiao have to give the fights the boxing fans and ?mainstream fans? want to see which are:
Pacquiao-Mayweather II
Mayweather-Golovkin
Pacquiao-Canelo
Pacquiao-Broner or Crawford
That being mentioned Floyd Mayweather (49-0, 26KOs) has expressed an interest to come out of his current retirement and fight UFC fighter Connor McGregor. McGregor is not a boxer. His boxing professional record is 0-0, 0KOs. He is a Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighter with a record of 20-3, 17 KOs. What is the difference between a Boxer and MMA fighter?
Depending on what type of fight it is, Professional Boxers fight between 4-12 rounds. MMA fighters fight 5 rounds. The biggest difference between the two sports is, the rules. Boxers only hit using their gloved fist and are allowed to hit only above the waist. MMA fighters are not allowed to hit in the groin but can hit their opponent anywhere and can kick, punch, wrestle, and choke to name a few things that they can do. That is an entirely different sport. Would a proposed Mayweather-McGreggor fight be a combination of the rules from both sports, or will it be Mayweather fighting under MMA rules or McGreggor fighting under Boxing rules? It would likely be McGregor fighting under boxing rules, in effect his boxing debut. Do the fight fans want to see such a fight? Yes, McGregor is a popular MMA fighter, but he is not a boxer. Mayweather reportedly wants $100,000,000 purse and McGreggor wants a reported $50,000,000 purse. Is there a PPV market for Mayweather-McGregor? Yes, many fight fans would no doubted tune in likely out of curiosity, but it would do nowhere near the PPV sales of Mayweather?s fight against Pacquiao, Canelo, or De La Hoya.
Boxing Notes
Tyson Fury has cancelled his rematch for the Heavyweight Championship of the World against Wladimir Klitschko for the second time. The first was for an injury, the second time for an ?undisclosed medical reason?, when first reported. Fury retires and unretired 3hrs later. He then stated he has been using cocaine, hasn?t been to the gym in months, and doesn?t want to live anymore. Let?s see how the sanctioning bodies he represents as champion deal with this issue?..Danny Garcia is looking for an opponent for November 12, 2016 before he reportedly will face Keith Thurman or prays he gets a call from Floyd Mayweather Jr. A call from Mayweather is likely not going to happen for the obvious reasons. I would be surprised if he and Thurman fought to unify the title. After Garcia beats his ?TBD? opponent in his next fight, look for Garcia to fight Amir Kahn in a rematch which will give both fighters a nice purse?..In defeat against Golovkin, Kell Brook also won. How? Brook performed well as long as it lasted. Once he recovers from his injuries there are big name fights should he decide to campaign in the 154lbs division against fighters like Miguel Cotto or Canelo Alvarez.
Contact Writer: RLuvsboxing@aol.com
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ralph Rimpell.
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