Comments Thread For: Arum: McGregor Using Boxing License as Leverage Against UFC

[Tom Cruise]

I disagree with you on that one. When boxing was filled with small, independent promoters the sport was far healthier. They had to work together to make big fights. Kovalev-Ward came together in a year because Arum and Haymon had nothing to do with it. What boxing needs is for Top Rank and PBC to die. They have far too much power.

The flip-side is one operation in near total control of the sport like the UFC. Given the glimpse of that world Haymon has given us I'll still go with Option 1.

You still need networks to show boxing. You need money to advertise. You need investment etc. Thats what what im worried about really. Not necessarily any individual promoters or companies.

When the biggest promotion of all time in may vs Pac cant even afford a proper undercard then you know things are being run wrong.

Boxing simply cant function with boxers taking such a large % of the profits. It isnt sustainable imo. Networks, investors and promoters need to be making money too. There needs to be money spent on undercards and advertising. Fights like Postol vs Crawford or GGG vs Lemiuex shouldnt be on PPV but they are because the purses are too high for the fights to be on regular HBO. Fights like Kovalev vs Ward should be properly marketed.

The biggest things i see everyone praising the UFC for is 1. Stacked cards, 2. Consistently good matchups and 3. The quality of their promotion. I think all 3 can be attributed in part to the 'underpaying' of their stars.

At the end of the day fans boxing arent getting a great product. Its not the only reason we are losing out. But its one of them. And fans are fickle. They can (and currently are) find other ways to spend their time and money.

Edit: i mean top boxers. The guys in or around PPV level. Lower level fighters i think are losing out because of this as well

[Illmatic94]

mayweather has every boxer (regardless of accomplishments) demanding mayweather type purses..that's what killing the sport. boxing fans cheer when boxers make millions fighting unranked opposition but then cry when big fights can't be made. UFC guys might not make as much but in comparison to us everyday ppl, they're still rich AF. .UFC is blowin boxing out the water for one simple reason..they can afford to put together stacked cards on a consistent basis. .in boxing we're lucky getting two big fights a year ..of course with a predictable ****ty undercard and a $70 price tag for HD, good luck with that.

[Lou Cipher]

McGregor couldnt win a Boxing match against a 10 fight amateur Boxer.

[RomanReigns]

McGregor couldnt win a Boxing match against a 10 fight amateur Boxer.

He's not a good boxer. Mcgregor is using his mouth, and his antics to sell some fights.

[Dr Rumack]

You still need networks to show boxing. You need money to advertise. You need investment etc. Thats what what im worried about really. Not necessarily any individual promoters or companies.

When the biggest promotion of all time in may vs Pac cant even afford a proper undercard then you know things are being run wrong.

Boxing simply cant function with boxers taking such a large % of the profits. It isnt sustainable imo. Networks, investors and promoters need to be making money too. There needs to be money spent on undercards and advertising. Fights like Postol vs Crawford or GGG vs Lemiuex shouldnt be on PPV but they are because the purses are too high for the fights to be on regular HBO. Fights like Kovalev vs Ward should be properly marketed.

The biggest things i see everyone praising the UFC for is 1. Stacked cards, 2. Consistently good matchups and 3. The quality of their promotion. I think all 3 can be attributed in part to the 'underpaying' of their stars.

At the end of the day fans boxing arent getting a great product. Its not the only reason we are losing out. But its one of them. And fans are fickle. They can (and currently are) find other ways to spend their time and money.

Edit: i mean top boxers. The guys in or around PPV level. Lower level fighters i think are losing out because of this as well

The UFC created the platform that enables these guys - who would otherwise be unheard of - to make real money. The important point is that fighters can’t make that sort of money elsewhere. If they could they would.

That’s where PBC can’t imitate the UFC. Firstly, they have to buy a monopoly position, whereas the UFC got it by being innovative in an emerging market. And secondly they face competition way more intense than anything the Fertittas had to live with. So that leads them towards competitive practices that are the polar opposite of the UFC model, soft matchmaking, huge fighter fees, erratic schedules etc.

Boxing fans are getting a terrible product because of the structure of the industry, which itself is about (1) the dominant business model and (2) the fragmentation of control. The business model problem everyone knows. Soft matchmaking over several years building towards PPV events. The chosen fighters being paid enough in single events to justify them not fighting any more than twice in 18 months. That is obviously a cancer rotting the sport from the inside out.

More important I think is the higher order structure, the fragmentation of power. We’re stuck in this awful in-between state. We get none of the benefits of a fair system where no one actor has enough power to distort the market and people have to work together. But neither do we have a single entity with enough control to plan and act in the interests of the entire sport. The UFC having a near monopoly creates that entity, allowing them to mobilise massive resources (media, events, fighters) to develop a product that appeals to people and grows the sport.

Boxing has too many wannabe emperors. Big enough to create their own bullshit franchises where they match their ‘stars’ against garbage opposition. Not big enough to consistently put stars against each other.

The only way out of this is for these organisations to get weaker, or for one of them to get a lot stronger. Haymon hasn’t done it with more money than anyone else is ever going to have to do it, so for me it’s obvious. The sport needs a financial collapse that it going to bring those little emperors to their knees, and force them to work together.

For anyone who’s concerned about the impact this would have on the fighters, console yourself in the knowledge that 99% of the fighters don’t benefit from how things are now either.

[billfifty]

As a business man, Arum is saying some ****** shiat; Mcgregor is playing the short game not long....Going for the super payday, not the contender payday. Mcgregor is not going to risk being exposed in some contender fight when he can cash in on his celeb and get that record breaking ppv with Mayweather. He's going for the money grab and if he pulls off this fight somehow and make the money he will be asking....for the azz whopping he'll be getting...it will be the biggest robbery since Enron. Cudos to the Lad.

[aboutfkntime]

There wasnt too much chat about mayweathers purse being too much iirc. But there was a lot of complaints about thw shocking undercard and poor quality promotion, which were direct results of Mayweather and Pacquiao's pay.

The big problem is that if bigwigs arent making profit off boxing (by that i mean networks, investors, promoters) then they wont bother getting into boxing in the first place.

I really want boxers to make big money. But i just worry that the overall effect on the sport will be negative and that as a result lower level boxers and future prospects will suffer from diminishing purses.

damn, hard to argue with that

[thack]

Mac needs to stick to MMA most decent amateurs would beat him

[Tom Cruise]

The UFC created the platform that enables these guys - who would otherwise be unheard of - to make real money. The important point is that fighters can’t make that sort of money elsewhere. If they could they would.

That’s where PBC can’t imitate the UFC. Firstly, they have to buy a monopoly position, whereas the UFC got it by being innovative in an emerging market. And secondly they face competition way more intense than anything the Fertittas had to live with. So that leads them towards competitive practices that are the polar opposite of the UFC model, soft matchmaking, huge fighter fees, erratic schedules etc.

Boxing fans are getting a terrible product because of the structure of the industry, which itself is about (1) the dominant business model and (2) the fragmentation of control. The business model problem everyone knows. Soft matchmaking over several years building towards PPV events. The chosen fighters being paid enough in single events to justify them not fighting any more than twice in 18 months. That is obviously a cancer rotting the sport from the inside out.

More important I think is the higher order structure, the fragmentation of power. We’re stuck in this awful in-between state. We get none of the benefits of a fair system where no one actor has enough power to distort the market and people have to work together. But neither do we have a single entity with enough control to plan and act in the interests of the entire sport. The UFC having a near monopoly creates that entity, allowing them to mobilise massive resources (media, events, fighters) to develop a product that appeals to people and grows the sport.

Boxing has too many wannabe emperors. Big enough to create their own bullshit franchises where they match their ‘stars’ against garbage opposition. Not big enough to consistently put stars against each other.

The only way out of this is for these organisations to get weaker, or for one of them to get a lot stronger. Haymon hasn’t done it with more money than anyone else is ever going to have to do it, so for me it’s obvious. The sport needs a financial collapse that it going to bring those little emperors to their knees, and force them to work together.

For anyone who’s concerned about the impact this would have on the fighters, console yourself in the knowledge that 99% of the fighters don’t benefit from how things are now either.

Yeah i mean all of that is true. Actually its probably the reason fighters are able to leverage such big purses (multiple power bases gives means they can threaten to walk across the street if demands arent met).

I still think my original point stands that boxing fans are being shortsighted cheering that boxing paydays are bigger than UFC and also that there is need to make boxing shows profitable again for people other than the top level boxers.

[aboutfkntime]

I disagree with you on that one. When boxing was filled with small, independent promoters the sport was far healthier. They had to work together to make big fights. Kovalev-Ward came together in a year because Arum and Haymon had nothing to do with it. What boxing needs is for Top Rank and PBC to die. They have far too much power.

The flip-side is one operation in near total control of the sport like the UFC. Given the glimpse of that world Haymon has given us I'll still go with Option 1.

Actually the PBC model is more closely linked to the old days. Remember, PBC isn't a promotion outfit. Any fighter can fight on a PBC show. It's fighters deals and allegiances as well as promoters such as Top Rank and Golden Boy that prevent match ups from happening on PBC. When fans make it unattractive to be a TR or GBP fighter, change may occur.

You still need networks to show boxing. You need money to advertise. You need investment etc. Thats what what im worried about really. Not necessarily any individual promoters or companies.

When the biggest promotion of all time in may vs Pac cant even afford a proper undercard then you know things are being run wrong.

Boxing simply cant function with boxers taking such a large % of the profits. It isnt sustainable imo. Networks, investors and promoters need to be making money too. There needs to be money spent on undercards and advertising. Fights like Postol vs Crawford or GGG vs Lemiuex shouldnt be on PPV but they are because the purses are too high for the fights to be on regular HBO. Fights like Kovalev vs Ward should be properly marketed.

The biggest things i see everyone praising the UFC for is 1. Stacked cards, 2. Consistently good matchups and 3. The quality of their promotion. I think all 3 can be attributed in part to the 'underpaying' of their stars.

At the end of the day fans boxing arent getting a great product. Its not the only reason we are losing out. But its one of them. And fans are fickle. They can (and currently are) find other ways to spend their time and money.

Edit: i mean top boxers. The guys in or around PPV level. Lower level fighters i think are losing out because of this as well

mayweather has every boxer (regardless of accomplishments) demanding mayweather type purses..that's what killing the sport. boxing fans cheer when boxers make millions fighting unranked opposition but then cry when big fights can't be made. UFC guys might not make as much but in comparison to us everyday ppl, they're still rich AF. .UFC is blowin boxing out the water for one simple reason..they can afford to put together stacked cards on a consistent basis. .in boxing we're lucky getting two big fights a year ..of course with a predictable ****ty undercard and a $70 price tag for HD, good luck with that.

GOOD posts..... top draw !!

McGregor couldnt win a Boxing match against a 10 fight amateur Boxer.

hi Lou SMH