Top Rank's CEO Bob Arum has launched an attack on Sky Sports for their decision to have three pay-per-view shows between now and the end of the year, accusing the network of a “money grab” and saying it was “immoral” to charge people extra to watch boxing when so many are suffering financially during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The veteran promoter used a media call with Vassiliy Lomachenko – to promote his fight with Teofimo Lopez on October 17 – to lambast the UK network, contrasting the decision of ESPN to not have the Lomachenko-Lopez fight on pay-per-view, with Sky Sports, singling out the October 31 fight between Okelsandr Usyk and Dereck Chisora as not worthy of PPV.

He also credited BT Sport for their decision not to charge extra to their subscribers to see the heavyweight clash between Daniel Dubois and Joe Joyce, which will go ahead on November 28, despite no fans being allowed to attend. Around 15,000 tickets were reported to have been sold when that fight was originally scheduled for the O2 Arena in April.

“ESPN really are supporters of the sport and they don’t just use the sport, they support it and they are giving us the where with all to put this event on,” Arum said.

“Unlike what happens in the UK where you have one outfit like Sky Sports which just money grabs and puts everything on pay-per-view. I see BT Sport has stepped up to the plate and they are giving their subscribers without extra money Dubois and Joyce, which is an excellent heavyweight fight. 

“Any fight that Eddie Hearn does, whether it is a major fight, or a minor fight, they put on pay-per-view, because Sky Sports is only apparently interested in a money grab, soak the boxing fans for whatever they can.  These networks have to understand how people are hurting, how many people in this country and the UK are out of work because of this pandemic. I think it’s really immoral to require people to spend money watching their favourite sport every week, every other week. What Sky Sports is doing in the UK is an absolute disgrace. I don’t care if they never buy a fight from me. What they are doing now is a disgrace.”

Usyk-Chisora expected to be the first of three pay-per-view shows on Sky Sports before Christmas. The Alexander Povetkin-Dillian Whyte rematch will also be on pay-per-view on November 21, as will the Anthony Joshua-Kubrat Pulev fight, which has not been confirmed yet, but is expected to be on December 12.

Arum said that ESPN would show Lomachenko-Lopez, Terence Crawford-Kell Brook (on November 14) and Miguel Berchelt-Oscar Valdez (possibly on November 7) on their main network. He did not mention the Tyson Fury-Deontay Wilder rematch, which is pencilled in for December 19, and would likely be on pay-per-view.

While Lomachenko-Lopez is free in the United States, UK fans will have to pay £9.99 to watch it on Fite TV.

“I like Eddie,” Arum said. “If Sky won’t give him money to do significant fights, he has no other choice but to do it on pay-per-view. I’m sure if Sky really supported boxing, put up money to see some of these fights, which are good fights, but are not pay-per-view quality. Like Usyk and Chisora, that’s a good fight, but it is not a pay-per-view fight. Why the hell isn’t Sky buying that fight to show to their subscribers, without soaking them 25 quid? 

“It’s wrong, there is a point a time, particularly now, with what everyone is going through, that these networks have to understand that there is a time for them to give back. That is what ESPN has done, that is why everybody in America can watch Lomachenko-Lopez without spending five cents.

“And that’s all credit to ESPN. They are doing it not just for this fight, but for the rest of the year.”

Ron Lewis is a senior writer for Boxing Scene. He was Boxing Correspondent for The Times, where he worked from 2001-2019 - covering four Olympic Games and numerous world title fights across the globe. He has written about boxing for a wide variety of publications worldwide since the 1980s.