HBO rejects Ward/Oosthuizen

[Barcham]

I'm a fan of Ward but why all this demands about getting a 7 figure payday for fighting a nobody? You can be sure too Ward would demands he be the main fight.

Against a top opponent Ward would be in the main fight, but against a nobody Ward can possibly be on the undercard. Or else the "co-main" event.

But that would mean finding a fighter willing to be the main event in a fight in Oakland. Seriously, who would really want to fight in Oakland?

I think if Roc Nation want to make a big splash, they should put on their own card with Cotto co-headlining the event with Ward. They have enough money to pay whatever purses they wish to and they have contractual obligations to both Cotto and Ward.

If Haymon can throw money around and take heavy losses, you would think Jay Z could easily do the same. I'm sure HBO would air it if they didn't have to foot the bill.

[~AK49~]

What a waste of a career/prime. Brb, tuneup for....another tuneup.

[aldo5408]

That's not the point. The two situations are different. Golovkin is in high demand and he's the one bringing in the ratings consistently. He's also a lot cheaper which gives them more breathing room. Oosthuizen isn't a bad choice for a tune-up, Ward did fight Edwin Rodriguez after all, but he's not in a position where he can just demand a tune up fight and get $2M for it when he's been out of the sport for 1.5 years.

If Ward was in GGG's shoes, fighting often, at a smaller cost, and being in demand, I could definitely see them approving Oosthuizen as an opponent.

I'd love to see Ward fighting again but he's put himself in a difficult situation.

Ward vs rodriguez did better than ggg fight

[NEETzsche]

HBO turned down Oosthuizen when he was talked about being a GGG opponent a few years ago.

huh, so they did. i guess that shuts down any talk of favouritism

[Scipio2009]

Well you can use it for the Murray fight. I don't know what other fights you're talking about though.

... how about every fight gets broadcast internationally.

If there's a big fight in the US (Khan-Alexander, Wilder-Stiverne, Hopkins-Kovalev, etc), odds are strong that some international TV partner would also be interested in also airing the fight for their own home market.

The fight airing early in the morning in Europe will likely hit the viewing number (though a later replay may assuage that some), but it's not as if there would be zero interest in the fights across Europe. There will be fans who wake up early/stay up to see the fights.

If they count for Golovkin's star profile, why do they get ignored for everyone else.

[Build That Wall]

HBO is ruining Ward's chance at getting another fight.

[Eastcoast]

How many people wanted to rewatch Golovkin beat on another hapless opponent who, though tough, didn't really come with enough of a punch to try and hit back? what's your point?

If Ward-Rodriguez was aired twice domestically and internationally, there would've been viewers tuning into all three broadcasts. You add the 1.2m who saw the first run of the fight, to the viewers that watched the replays and the international broadcast, and the fight would've been seen by well over 2m viewers, regardless of how you felt about the actual fight.

'OMG, Ward's starpower dwarfs Canelo Alvarez's'!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1!!!!!!!!!!!

lulz

How many people wanted to rewatch Golovkin? As many as 500k. Golovkin/Murray peaked at 900k in the afternoon, and totaled over 1.4mill. If Andre Ward fought in the afternoon, he'd be lucky to draw 800k, and he sure wouldn't reach 1.4mill total.

Rodriguez was viewed as every bit as hapless as Murray, but the majority of people would rather see Golovkin bash the hell out of another guy than watch Ward jab and grab his way to another decision. He struggled to sell 4,000 seats in his hometown for that fight. SMDH...

As for Ward's star status - back when Ward was fighting on Showtime during the S6 his numbers ******. He had a little over 600k for Abraham and less than that for Froch.

[-Makunouchi-]

Ward's mother because she ran out of sleeping pills and needed something to make her drowsy at bedtime.

These sums up the thread!

[Chrismart]

The rejection can't come as too much of a surprise to Ward. It was a poor choice of opponent.

[-Makunouchi-]

How many people wanted to rewatch Golovkin beat on another hapless opponent who, though tough, didn't really come with enough of a punch to try and hit back? what's your point?

If Ward-Rodriguez was aired twice domestically and internationally, there would've been viewers tuning into all three broadcasts. You add the 1.2m who saw the first run of the fight, to the viewers that watched the replays and the international broadcast, and the fight would've been seen by well over 2m viewers, regardless of how you felt about the actual fight.

'OMG, Ward's starpower dwarfs Canelo Alvarez's'!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1!!!!!!!!!!!

lulz

Watching GGG beat the **** out of his opponent is makes viewers jump from their seats,

Watching ward sends them to their bed early to take an early nap!

This is the ****ing difference!

Ggg is more economical than ward and thats from a biz standpoint and thats how i see hbo is looking at it.

******ity always shows thru fanboyism!