Comments Thread For: Main Events: No Interest in Stevenson-Kovalev Purse Bid

[Scipio2009]

For both guys this fight is the best option financially. Kovalev can't go purse bid due to HBO contract. Why wouldn't Stevenson go HBO? He'd at least double that Bika purse, with HBO money + Canada ppv + gate?

Because Kovalev-Stevenson on the open market likely nets him double what HBO seems willing to pay for the fight (And Stevenson likely gets the money that HBO is willing to put up for Stevenson-Kovalev in Stevenson-Fonfora II from Showtime/PBC).

Stevenson, at the age of 37, only has so many big money fights left; why would GYM give a network they have no affiliation with so massive a discount on one of his big fights left?

[Scipio2009]

Bute, Oosthuizen not meaningful. Pascal just got destroyed, Stevenson priced himself out right before. Fonfara 2? Lol I guess that's meaningful on Showtime

So Kovalev fights Mohammedi ..... and then what? Outside of Chilemba, HBO will have to look below the top 20 light heavyweights to find a fighter for Kovalev to bring on their airwaves.

More meaningful than anything Kovalev will see for the foreseeable future.

[Scipio2009]

Fair enough, but if that's impossible due to Kovalevs HBO contract, he still has a deal on the table better than anything on Pbc. He's a free agent so if he could go back if he doesn't like what HBO is offering, but his numbers, both TV and attendance, have suffered a lot since he went off HBO.

Up until the days after the purse bid was announced, everyone seemed to think that Kovalev was a free agent, too. If Kovalev was so bent on resigning with HBO, maybe his team shouldn't have wasted all that time harping about how chicken Stevenson was.

[Scipio2009]

PBC would mean CBS or NBC for a fight of this magnitude which would remove the possibility of PPV revenue from Canada. Haymon could only host this fight on Showtime and Showtime will not do the numbers that HBO would do. Whatever HBO would pay, combined with PPV revenue here in Canada would be higher than a PBC card on free TV.

.... Haymon still has his relationship with Showtime, so if getting the PPV is an issue and using one of the terrestrial TV stations isn't an option, what is wrong with Showtime putting forward an offer for the fight? They are a subsidiary of CBS, you know.

[aldo5408]

Fight is on the table Gruber, Adonis is free to sign if he genuinely wants it.

Why would anyone take a paycut? I'm glad your not a promoter or advisor

[HeroBando]

Because Kovalev-Stevenson on the open market likely nets him double what HBO seems willing to pay for the fight (And Stevenson likely gets the money that HBO is willing to put up for Stevenson-Kovalev in Stevenson-Fonfora II from Showtime/PBC).

Stevenson, at the age of 37, only has so many big money fights left; why would GYM give a network they have no affiliation with so massive a discount on one of his big fights left?

Cause

1. He claims he doesn't care about the money, he just wants Kovalev and his titles
2. His off HBO numbers have been terrible
3. He'd still do better than vs Fonfara 2 or anything on PBC, not to mention future purses if he beat Kovalev

[HeroBando]

Why would anyone take a paycut? I'm glad your not a promoter or advisor

Its not a pay cut, its a big raise vs Bika, Sukhotsky, Fonfara or even the huge Fonfara rematch lol

[HeroBando]

Up until the days after the purse bid was announced, everyone seemed to think that Kovalev was a free agent, too. If Kovalev was so bent on resigning with HBO, maybe his team shouldn't have wasted all that time harping about how chicken Stevenson was.

They've been calling Stevenson a chicken since he bolted from HBO for no name opponents, terrible ratings and gate numbers.

[Scipio2009]

I see 2.9m for Chavez Fonfara, 2.5m for Chavez and 400k Fonfara. And Chavez is a top 5 ppv draw, while Stevensons TV ratings have been dire. Poor gate lately too. If Quebec had a lot of Poles, maybe Fonfara 2 does very well. Kovalev would be a 4 title unification OTOH.

Stevenson-Fonfara I was a good fight; not sure what the numbers looked like in Canada (at the gate, or on Canadian PPV). Fonfara has won two fights since then, looking good in both performances. Having had three fights on Showtime, knocking off Chavez Jr in impressive fashion for his most recent fight, I believe that Showtime is willing to put more money behind Fonfara.

You add the money that Showtime seems ready to put behind Stevenson to the money that Showtime seems ready to put behind Fonfara, and you end up with a pretty sizable US TV rights fee, to supplement whatever money could be generated in Quebec, on PPV and at the box office (especially after the fans have seen Fonfara perform beforehand).

Haven't been able to find much purse information for Stevenson, but I wouldn't be surprised if Showtime was willing to put up $2m-$2.5m for Stevenson-Fonfara II. Stevenson-Kovalev may be a four-belt unification fight, but how much money HBO is willing to put up is the real question.

HBO was only willing to put up $2m the last time this fight was discussed; hopefully they're willing to put up significantly more than that.

[HeroBando]

Stevenson-Fonfara I was a good fight; not sure what the numbers looked like in Canada (at the gate, or on Canadian PPV). Fonfara has won two fights since then, looking good in both performances. Having had three fights on Showtime, knocking off Chavez Jr in impressive fashion for his most recent fight, I believe that Showtime is willing to put more money behind Fonfara.

You add the money that Showtime seems ready to put behind Stevenson to the money that Showtime seems ready to put behind Fonfara, and you end up with a pretty sizable US TV rights fee, to supplement whatever money could be generated in Quebec, on PPV and at the box office (especially after the fans have seen Fonfara perform beforehand).

Haven't been able to find much purse information for Stevenson, but I wouldn't be surprised if Showtime was willing to put up $2m-$2.5m for Stevenson-Fonfara II. Stevenson-Kovalev may be a four-belt unification fight, but how much money HBO is willing to put up is the real question.

HBO was only willing to put up $2m the last time this fight was discussed; hopefully they're willing to put up significantly more than that.

Of course they are, Kovalev was just a Wbo titleholder then. He's made it a bigger fight via big wins over unified champ Hopkins and #1 Canada draw Pascal, despite Stevenson's flagging numbers.