Comments Thread For: Kovalev-Ward PPV Numbers Won't Justify Ward's $5 Million Guarantee

[bojangles1987]

Hopefully boxing fans buy this in force, because this is the kind of fight that deserves to be rewarded.

[Scipio2009]

PPV isn't the only revenue stream for the event, lol. MGM Resorts put a good amount of money into the pot, the UK TV rights for the fight is going to be worth a nice penny, the rest of the international TV rights are going to be worth money, the sponsorship opportunities for the actual live event are going to be significant, etc.

PPV will drive a ton of it, but let's not act like that's it.

You add that Main Events is the actual lead promoter on the event, and not Roc Nation, and this comes off as another hit piece (for the same folks whom seem to find the space to hate Floyd, 'Dre, and Timothy Bradley, yet try to make up some other excuse why that happens).

[Scipio2009]

$5 million??? Damn..... This PPV will have to do at least 250 to 300k buys to not be a loss. I believe it can hit those numbers though.

No it doesn't; Kovalev-Ward has already apparently sold over 10k tickets at T-Mobile Arena (with the $55 tickets already sold out, the ringside seats largely filled in, and the venue filling in pretty well too), BoxNation likely bought the fight for the UK, and that's without the dive to find the rest of the non-PPV revenues.

Mayweather-Berto didn't do well on PPV, but folks forget that the fight still did $14m at the live gate from the MGM Grand.

Alvarez-Khan did almost $7.5m at the T-Mobile Arena.

[Scipio2009]

Just run the basic numbers through. Neither guy is popular, so you can forget international TV rights and promotions.

300k * 70 = 21m. HBO takes half = 10.5m + 3-5m gate, say 15m total. If kov is getting 4m, then 250k is about where break even point is.

I agree with the author though, 5m guarantee to a guy that's never been on ppv and is not a proven draw is a not a wise investment. But that's how roc operates, they've been significantly overpaying all of their fighters. From ward getting 2m for Paul Smith to cottos 15m guarantees.

The fight is being held at T-Mobile Arena, in Las Vegas, with the backing of MGM Resorts (for an event that's apparently already been shown to be a pretty hot ticket, before the final media blitz to push the fight).

With Ward's guarantee supposedly being $5m (why folks are ignoring Main Events being the lead promoter for the event is beyond me; guess acknowledging that would muddle the story), you're left counting backwards.

The gates going to be solid, Televisa has purchased the fight in Mexico, BoxNation is purchasing the fight in the UK, among other revenues before the PPV even comes in.

Roc Nation is working feverishly to build a boxing promotional company; if Ward comes through this next fight, Roc Nation's investment basically gets on the verge of paying off (with only Adonis Stevenson to still deal with, Roc Nation would have a 32 year old three-belt champion who the sportsbook couldn't go against [part of why MGM Resorts loved Floyd so completely], while also having an American star that they can take home to New York to showcase).

RNS may not have made any money just yet, but to act as if they've simply lost their ass so far is a bit much.

[ThatDude44]

Thank You!
Why should I worry about a potential "bad business decision" when the people making it have already made that decision and bitten the bullet. And I assume Roc Nation has deep pockets, one bad decision won't make or break them especially when the decision was made in order to have a P4P vs another P4P!

The only downside I see is that the undercard suffers because now they probably can't afford to pay anyone else in the 6 figures.

Well said, man.

[Redd Foxx]

17 years: Hoya V Trinidad

Also, Chico was p4p 5 just before fought Mayweather

Oscar vs Tito sounds legit but I believe Floyd was outside of the top 5 (#7 I believe) when he fought Corrales (#5) so that doesn't count.

[Scipio2009]

Yeah, it's good that Ward is getting a huge paycheque, as the challenger, against Kovalev.

But BAD for Golovkin to try and do the same, as defending champ, against Jacobs.

Andre Ward has his fight. Golovkin doesn't have his, and the shenanigans behind what he's done to get his money sets things up for Golovkin to never get a really big fight.

Andre Ward getting his alleged $5m didn't scuttle the biggest fight that could be made for him. The same can't be said for Golovkin

[Shadoww702]

Well that's very sad for GGG, because it seems his team is not equipped to do for GGG what TR has done for Pacquiao, or what GBP has done for Canelo, or what Haymon has done for Mayweather, or what Roc Nation has done for Ward and Cotto. Hasn't K2 done well for Klitschko? This is a honest question to you because you seem to know more than I do about fighters outside the U.S. Is K2 treating GGG the same as they do Klitschko?

I find it hard to believe working with TR or GB. GGG wouldn't be a bigger superstar by now? And I'm sure BOTH of them could of paid Saunders the $4 million or negotiated it down a lil to get GGG that last belt. And I would of bet $$$$ they would of paid GGG more than $1.5. They both would be in training right now. But why pay one guy $3-4 million when you can get TWO Lemuix's or 6-8 Wade's for that...

[kafkod]

All of the above except Jacobs:

With Ward it was "Maybe in 2048 if he's still alive"

And with Canelo it was "He won't fight us, will probably low ball us at 2mil to avoid fight"

But the offer came in at 10mil and we haven't heard a peep since.

You do realise that even if GGG had accepted Oscar's offer, the fight wouldn't be happening till Sept 2017, and that they are still negotiating terms?

Ward had his chance to fight GGG immediately back in 2013, but he wasn't ready, for whatever reason. Time to let that one drop.

[BlakBread904]

I'm just a ****** fan and don't know the in and outs but I'm sure you add in a decent live gate, sponsorships, international broadcasting right and a couple hundred thousand PPV and Roc will be more then able to cover Wards cheque the writer said Kovs making less so this isn't a massive cost event and acting like it has to do 500k or it'll lose $ and it'll be Wards fault

They said Crawford /Postol Brone broke even doing 50-60 k but this event has to do 10x that with what 4x higher purses . It's ******ed logic and basically just written to sh.it on Ward about being greedy or he doesn't deserve it or whatever the point is

Like Brook made the same thing against Golovkin was there one article written about putting him in a bad light for making a deal. This isn't that extreme of a purse for this type of event. Sh.it Chavez Jr. made like 3 million in his first fight with Haymon fighting a scrub keeping all the Mexican TV rights, Gennadys and Lemiuex purse was in the neighbourhood 3.5m total and did 97-150k and from all reports at least broke even and probably made some $ . but somehow Ward/Kov have to do 4-5x those PPV #s with purses no more then 2.5-3x that. Doesn't make sense

This article is basically trash and just another opprotunity to paint Ward in a bad light



Agree.

this article is crap and just more of the Same Old from the boxing media that sh.it on Ward for everything and no reason. Rafeal / Kim / Montoya and the a bunch of others sh.it on Ward for everything

I'm pretty sure if anyone actually spent some time guessing and using a rough idea of the numbers you wouldnt need 500k to break even, It's nonsense to even suggest that


This whole PPV been marketed wrong from the start, The media want to paint Kov in this positive light when it would have been so much easier to market him as the evil Russian , a fighter who's killed people in the ring and most likely a racist POS whos against equal opprotunity for women a Trump supporting bad guy and Ward the last American gold medalist who unbeaten since he's 13 a family man nicknamed the son of God. That has WWE type /Rocky 4 marketing story behind it both undefeated and P4P bixerS instead it's a fight just for hardcores because that's all it is. The media want to paint the Russian in a good light and Ward in the negative light

Obviously I don't know the men so Kov might be a outstanding man and Ward might be a POS who beats his kids and cheats on his wife with hookers but I'm just saying as a story line to promote outside of hardcore boxing fans to get the casuals interested that would be it not this muddled mess of character story lines that currently being promoted for this fight