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A Golden Delivery on Pay-Per-View
Mon 8-Aug-2011 05:06
Richard Schaefer
By Steve Kim
Last month at the Star Plaza at LA Live, where a public press conference was held to officially announce the September 17th pay-per-view bout between WBC welterweight titlist Victor Ortiz and Floyd Mayweather, Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer promised me that they would be featuring the greatest undercard of all-time. For the record, the “Illmatic” of all pay-per-view undercards is “Revenge the Rematches” that took place in 1994, featuring return bouts like Julio Cesar Chavez-Frankie Randall and Gerald McClellan-Julian Jackson. That card will be the one all others are measured against now and forever.
Well, “Star Power” has a bill that includes Saul Alvarez facing Alfonso Gomez, Jessie Vargas taking on Josesito Lopez and Erik Morales battling the hard-hitting Lucas Matthysse. Y’ know what? From top to bottom, this is a pretty damn good card, any way you slice it. Every single fight on this undercard figures to be a fun, entertaining scrap.
No Butterbean or Mia St. John for your $54.95.
"It’s the biggest card we have ever promoted; frankly, it’s the biggest I can remember," said Schaefer this past Wednesday at Olvera Street, where an open air press conference was held for this undercard. "Certainly it’s the biggest in the past ten, 12, 14 years or so. We wanted to give a great card and I’m happy to combine all these stars from Morales, ’Canelo’, to Mayweather-Ortiz, emerging stars like Vargas, on one card. It really is for the fight fans, sports fans, general public. If you ever want to watch one fight card, that’s the one."
Here’s the thing; it’s a belief in the boxing industry that whatever headlines the marquee on a pay-per-view card is responsible for about 99 percent of the buys. Most successful shows are reliant on big names- like a Mayweather or Manny Pacquiao- to drive interest with the general public (who often doesn’t care what is on the screen for the first two hours of a pay-per-view show). They believe the hardcore loyalist will purchase the card, regardless, so with that, undercards have suffered in quality.
You would think, though, while the sport is in the spotlight just a few days out of the year, promotions would put their best feet forward on these occasions. Perhaps there needs to be more emphasis on offering lineups that aren’t just reliant on the main event to carry the day. To a certain degree, these fights shouldn’t just be the filler or something that you sludge through. At least one fight should be of- at the very least- “Boxing After Dark”-quality and, above all, provide some real entertainment.
"I agree with you," said Schaefer, whose card is a split-site affair from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas and the Staples Center in Los Angeles. "I think Mayweather-Ortiz is certainly one of the best match-ups you can make. I know everyone is talking about Mayweather-Pacquiao but short of that, I think at this particular time, at this particular weight class, this is the single best match-up that can be made. I really don’t see any other combination whatsoever. It’s the biggest fight. It’s a dangerous fight for Floyd. So it’s certainly a pay-per-view which is going to be on its own, I would assume, in the 1.5 million-range or so. Mayweather against [Juan Manuel] Marquez did like a 1.35 million, so Mayweather is in that range. So here, you’re talking about a million-and-a-half homes. Now we really feel we have loaded this card with - since its Mexican Independence weekend- the best young Mexican star who commands huge audiences in Mexico and here as well. We went on sale with tickets at the Staples Center and on the first day, we sold like 3,000 tickets. That’s unbelievable. We put ’Canelo’ on the card in what will be a very, very entertaining fight with Gomez, who is a character and a heckuva fighter.
"And then add to that, Morales against Matthysse, which is one of the best 140-pound fights you can make. Most media people and others have Morales and Matthysse ranked in the top eight or so in that particular weight class. Those two guys fighting each other is one of those fights that you know going into the fight, it can only be a great fight. It’s like [Robert] Guerrero-[Marcos] Maidana, y’ know; it can be ’Fight of the Year,’ the same here. If you put all of those together on one card, we really feel we are really making a statement. This is a statement card for Golden Boy, Mayweather Promotions, for all of us and it is a statement card, most importantly, for the sport of boxing."
"So it is us, the promoters, who are 100 percent at risk and that sometimes depends on what kind of cards you’re going to see. But in boxing, you can actually make good fights as well. It doesn’t have to be all world championship fights, which are expensive. You can do interesting significant match-ups for less money as well. That’s the thing we want to do. We really want to make fights where, going into the fight, you really don’t know who is going to win and that is exactly what you’re going to see on this card here."
Case in point is the bout between Lopez and Vargas, a hook-up of two young, up-and-coming junior welterweights who are fighting to move up the division’s food chain. Lopez is always in fun fights and Vargas is taking his first real significant step-up. This figures to be a well-contested bout.
“Star Power” got some help from the INS as Jorge Barrios was denied his visa and therefore, the hard-hitting Matthysse will face Morales. So Golden Boy went from taking a lot of deserved heat for playing alongside the WBC in getting this fight sanctioned for their junior welterweight crown to now just having a fight that looks to be an old-fashioned slugfest, regardless of what malfeasance took place.
"Last night, was I reading on some of the blogs. I spent about an hour, hour-and-a-half. There was not one bad word about the fight, about the fact it’s a title fight," said Schaefer. "Everybody is generally excited about that fight and knows that if Erik Morales wins that title, he earned it the hard way."
Yes, Schaefer admits, he does look at what is said and written about his company and the fights they stage. "I do read," he admitted freely, "I mean, I don’t read frequently, sometimes, like when I have press tours and things like that, I have a tough time catching up. When I have time in the evening or so, I sit outside, smoke my cigar; I have my laptop there and do read through the blogs and I do listen to what the fans say. Because I read some other promoter said that he doesn’t really care what the fans are saying or thinking. I do like to know what the consumers, the fans, are actually thinking because I think it’s important. You need to listen to the voice of the consumer and give them the product they want."
Schaefer added, "Honestly, for the last year, year-and-a-half, as it relates to Golden Boy cards, I hadn’t really read any criticisms because I really believe- and you guys from the media and the fans should be the judge on that- and I said then that I was going to make a commitment to really put together good, compelling undercard fights. I think we’ve done that."
The goal here is to hit two million buys. If they fall short, it won’t be for a lack of trying.
"In all of our pay-per-views we’ve done in the last 12 to 18 months or so, I did not get any complaints and I think we delivered. I think with this one here, I have to say we are setting a standard which is going to be very, very, very difficult to surpass."
WBC
As for the Morales-Matthysse bout, the only bummer for me is that this is taking place in Las Vegas and not the Staples Center (yeah, I’m staying close to home for this one). But I’m still hearing folks say that the stench of the WBC’s machinations put a stain on this match-up. Huh? Really? So if this thing turns into the fight we think it might be, or “El Terrible” can pull one more great performance out of his satchel, you’re telling me that in the middle of this, you’re going to be thinking, ’Geez, I just can’t get out of my mind what the WBC did here.’?
Seriously?
Folks, just enjoy the fight for what it is: a damn, good fight. It will be violent and bloody, so just ignore the ancillary issues that accompanied this bout. Me, personally, I can’t wait to see Morales’ attempt at history at becoming the first Mexican to win major world titles in four weight classes (I kid, I kid).
Mon 8-Aug-2011 05:06
Richard Schaefer
By Steve Kim
Last month at the Star Plaza at LA Live, where a public press conference was held to officially announce the September 17th pay-per-view bout between WBC welterweight titlist Victor Ortiz and Floyd Mayweather, Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer promised me that they would be featuring the greatest undercard of all-time. For the record, the “Illmatic” of all pay-per-view undercards is “Revenge the Rematches” that took place in 1994, featuring return bouts like Julio Cesar Chavez-Frankie Randall and Gerald McClellan-Julian Jackson. That card will be the one all others are measured against now and forever.
Well, “Star Power” has a bill that includes Saul Alvarez facing Alfonso Gomez, Jessie Vargas taking on Josesito Lopez and Erik Morales battling the hard-hitting Lucas Matthysse. Y’ know what? From top to bottom, this is a pretty damn good card, any way you slice it. Every single fight on this undercard figures to be a fun, entertaining scrap.
No Butterbean or Mia St. John for your $54.95.
"It’s the biggest card we have ever promoted; frankly, it’s the biggest I can remember," said Schaefer this past Wednesday at Olvera Street, where an open air press conference was held for this undercard. "Certainly it’s the biggest in the past ten, 12, 14 years or so. We wanted to give a great card and I’m happy to combine all these stars from Morales, ’Canelo’, to Mayweather-Ortiz, emerging stars like Vargas, on one card. It really is for the fight fans, sports fans, general public. If you ever want to watch one fight card, that’s the one."
Here’s the thing; it’s a belief in the boxing industry that whatever headlines the marquee on a pay-per-view card is responsible for about 99 percent of the buys. Most successful shows are reliant on big names- like a Mayweather or Manny Pacquiao- to drive interest with the general public (who often doesn’t care what is on the screen for the first two hours of a pay-per-view show). They believe the hardcore loyalist will purchase the card, regardless, so with that, undercards have suffered in quality.
You would think, though, while the sport is in the spotlight just a few days out of the year, promotions would put their best feet forward on these occasions. Perhaps there needs to be more emphasis on offering lineups that aren’t just reliant on the main event to carry the day. To a certain degree, these fights shouldn’t just be the filler or something that you sludge through. At least one fight should be of- at the very least- “Boxing After Dark”-quality and, above all, provide some real entertainment.
"I agree with you," said Schaefer, whose card is a split-site affair from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas and the Staples Center in Los Angeles. "I think Mayweather-Ortiz is certainly one of the best match-ups you can make. I know everyone is talking about Mayweather-Pacquiao but short of that, I think at this particular time, at this particular weight class, this is the single best match-up that can be made. I really don’t see any other combination whatsoever. It’s the biggest fight. It’s a dangerous fight for Floyd. So it’s certainly a pay-per-view which is going to be on its own, I would assume, in the 1.5 million-range or so. Mayweather against [Juan Manuel] Marquez did like a 1.35 million, so Mayweather is in that range. So here, you’re talking about a million-and-a-half homes. Now we really feel we have loaded this card with - since its Mexican Independence weekend- the best young Mexican star who commands huge audiences in Mexico and here as well. We went on sale with tickets at the Staples Center and on the first day, we sold like 3,000 tickets. That’s unbelievable. We put ’Canelo’ on the card in what will be a very, very entertaining fight with Gomez, who is a character and a heckuva fighter.
"And then add to that, Morales against Matthysse, which is one of the best 140-pound fights you can make. Most media people and others have Morales and Matthysse ranked in the top eight or so in that particular weight class. Those two guys fighting each other is one of those fights that you know going into the fight, it can only be a great fight. It’s like [Robert] Guerrero-[Marcos] Maidana, y’ know; it can be ’Fight of the Year,’ the same here. If you put all of those together on one card, we really feel we are really making a statement. This is a statement card for Golden Boy, Mayweather Promotions, for all of us and it is a statement card, most importantly, for the sport of boxing."
"So it is us, the promoters, who are 100 percent at risk and that sometimes depends on what kind of cards you’re going to see. But in boxing, you can actually make good fights as well. It doesn’t have to be all world championship fights, which are expensive. You can do interesting significant match-ups for less money as well. That’s the thing we want to do. We really want to make fights where, going into the fight, you really don’t know who is going to win and that is exactly what you’re going to see on this card here."
Case in point is the bout between Lopez and Vargas, a hook-up of two young, up-and-coming junior welterweights who are fighting to move up the division’s food chain. Lopez is always in fun fights and Vargas is taking his first real significant step-up. This figures to be a well-contested bout.
“Star Power” got some help from the INS as Jorge Barrios was denied his visa and therefore, the hard-hitting Matthysse will face Morales. So Golden Boy went from taking a lot of deserved heat for playing alongside the WBC in getting this fight sanctioned for their junior welterweight crown to now just having a fight that looks to be an old-fashioned slugfest, regardless of what malfeasance took place.
"Last night, was I reading on some of the blogs. I spent about an hour, hour-and-a-half. There was not one bad word about the fight, about the fact it’s a title fight," said Schaefer. "Everybody is generally excited about that fight and knows that if Erik Morales wins that title, he earned it the hard way."
Yes, Schaefer admits, he does look at what is said and written about his company and the fights they stage. "I do read," he admitted freely, "I mean, I don’t read frequently, sometimes, like when I have press tours and things like that, I have a tough time catching up. When I have time in the evening or so, I sit outside, smoke my cigar; I have my laptop there and do read through the blogs and I do listen to what the fans say. Because I read some other promoter said that he doesn’t really care what the fans are saying or thinking. I do like to know what the consumers, the fans, are actually thinking because I think it’s important. You need to listen to the voice of the consumer and give them the product they want."
Schaefer added, "Honestly, for the last year, year-and-a-half, as it relates to Golden Boy cards, I hadn’t really read any criticisms because I really believe- and you guys from the media and the fans should be the judge on that- and I said then that I was going to make a commitment to really put together good, compelling undercard fights. I think we’ve done that."
The goal here is to hit two million buys. If they fall short, it won’t be for a lack of trying.
"In all of our pay-per-views we’ve done in the last 12 to 18 months or so, I did not get any complaints and I think we delivered. I think with this one here, I have to say we are setting a standard which is going to be very, very, very difficult to surpass."
WBC
As for the Morales-Matthysse bout, the only bummer for me is that this is taking place in Las Vegas and not the Staples Center (yeah, I’m staying close to home for this one). But I’m still hearing folks say that the stench of the WBC’s machinations put a stain on this match-up. Huh? Really? So if this thing turns into the fight we think it might be, or “El Terrible” can pull one more great performance out of his satchel, you’re telling me that in the middle of this, you’re going to be thinking, ’Geez, I just can’t get out of my mind what the WBC did here.’?
Seriously?
Folks, just enjoy the fight for what it is: a damn, good fight. It will be violent and bloody, so just ignore the ancillary issues that accompanied this bout. Me, personally, I can’t wait to see Morales’ attempt at history at becoming the first Mexican to win major world titles in four weight classes (I kid, I kid).
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