Is PBC boxing's new feeder system?

[khal-d]

It seems like PBC's biggest problem will be establishing itself as the premium boxing offering, problem is they have no one who can be established as "the best," in any division. And to do so, they would have to fight credible opponents and win, regularly.

Looking at all the divisions, the only division PBC can lay claims to is 140 with Garcia, and that will be up for despute once Crawford is established at the weight and Garcia will likely move up to 147 anyways.

So is the PBC where you watch second rate fighters compete to one day perform on the big stages outside the PBC? Or where you watch second rate fighters fight each other in entertaining fights for a PBC belt while ignoring the rest of the boxing world?

If not, and the PBC is meant to encompass the best fighters, how do they get over this? It seems like they have 200 names but limited talent, and even more limited options for matching the limited talent.

Does Wilder fight Klitschko and Povetkin? No way.

Does Quillin fight GGG? No Way.

Does Stevenson fight Kovalev? Possibly, but will likely lose, and will most likely be sacrificed to Beterbiev when the time is right before he fights Kovalev.

Do Jack or Dirrell fight Ward? Probably not.

Do Bey and Figueroa take on Linares/Mitchell/Zepeda? Possibly, but highly unlikely.

Santa Cruz with Rigondeaux or Frampton? LOL.

It looks like he's close to signing Huck, but now there's a bunch of CW's who can claim to be #1 that he will not fight if he is with the PBC (Drozd, Lebedev and rising Chakhkiev/Kudryashov).

I just can't see it guys, I'm not a hater, I hope they do well, but I'm just trying to figure out how this flourishes into a situation where your actually watching the best in the world and not some fluff piece segments followed up by mismatches (this guy has cancer, this guy is from the ******, this guy loves to fight, blah blah blah).

[techliam]

I get what you mean

It's called 'premier boxing champions' showcasing contenders fighting each other

Like you said, the only champion they really have is Garcia, who hasn't fought at his weight recently

Premier Boxing Contenders

...which actually reflects the reality of it all. Free TV is never really going to showcase the best of the bunch when they often get paid more on premium tv. This works for me though, isn't necessarily a bad thing

[Weebler I]

Not having the best fighters wouldn't matter so much if they were putting on the most entertaining fights.

[HEND]

They just started. There's a long way to go. If their business modell works out I can't see why they can't be successful in a few years. Two of their shows did the best numbers in this year next to the MAy-Pac fight.
Bigger recognition --> bigger money--> bigger names to come.

[khal-d]

I get what you mean

It's called 'premier boxing champions' showcasing contenders fighting each other

Like you said, the only champion they really have is Garcia, who hasn't fought at his weight recently

Premier Boxing Contenders

...which actually reflects the reality of it all. Free TV is never really going to showcase the best of the bunch when they often get paid more on premium tv. This works for me though, isn't necessarily a bad thing

Agreed! No shame in being a feeder system if your top guys actually branch out and take on the rest of the ranked boxing world. Would absolutely love PBC if guys like Thurman, Garcia, Quillin and their top guys actually fight the best guys in the division.

If it went from PBC to HBO, or PBC to PPV, or PBC to Showtime, or even PBC to international shows, where the big license fees are available (and actually paid through demand rather than a war chest), then great!

Don't get me wrong though, even if they could attract GGG, Kovalev and the others to fight under the PBC for the big fights, no problem either, doesn't have to be HBO.

The problem is, this won't happen. Haymon's guys will not face anyone and will be relegated to looking good in a feeder system.

[khal-d]

They just started. There's a long way to go. If their business modell works out I can't see why they can't be successful in a few years. Two of their shows did the best numbers in this year next to the MAy-Pac fight.
Bigger recognition --> bigger money--> bigger names to come.

But if your business model does not establish any of your fighters as the best in the world and cannot do so under the structure of the "league", what do we end up with as a business model?

[khal-d]

Not having the best fighters wouldn't matter so much if they were putting on the most entertaining fights.

Don't agree, we all love entertaining fights, but people want to see the best in the world, whether it's exciting or not, this is what sports are about.

It's like saying you won't watch Messi and Ronaldo play because the guys on the street are more entertaining to watch, doesn't quite work.

It's like saying you would rather watch the CFL over the NFL because the field is bigger, they throw more, and they score more. But it

[AgainstTheRopes]

I wouldnt say their stable is made up of 2nd rate fighters. They have dozens of great world championship caliber fighters but the problem is there are just as many great fighters that are out of their grasp.

[Barcham]

The problem with being a feeder system is that it will not last long when paying higher purses than the real champions are fighting for. It will last as long as Haymon can foot the bill. Once that comes to an end, the networks will not be willing to invest anything close to what it is costing to run right now. They would be lucky to have purses approaching 10% of what they are paying out now once Haymon's cash flow fades out.

It would be like minor league baseball paying higher than major league salaries. It is simply not sustainable.

[NEETzsche]

i guess it will come into its own with the next generation of boxers, if it lasts that long. however, i worry that it will have a heavy american bias, which is unproductive in a sport seemingly in the process of globalising