How the Kovalev deal to fight on ESPN was made

[Eff Pandas]

Lets see what the WBC ends up doing. I'm hoping we get the Spence showdown next May/June.

I think Thurman will be calling his title shot in first. So I don't think Spence vs Porter is in the cards at all. Seems like people are forgetting Thurman exists he's been out so long. If they had more time & if Porter wasn't trying to get a better deal they might be able to line it all up before Thurman has his comeback fight. But I suspect Thurman fights this year or January & will throw all these plans in the trash.

Randomly it could get really interesting if Porter does sign with TR. Obviously TR is gonna make that Bud fight or fight Ugas & then Bud, but Thurman is still gonna have his title shot call out ability. So its possible Porter going to TR could setup a Thurman vs Bud (cuz I don't think Porter beats Bud) fight on PPV. Or it leads us to Thurman vs Spence sooner. So I'm curious to see how all that shakes out.

[Stinger1]

Where do people get this idea that the Porter's aren't loyal to Haymon? Porter has gotten the best fights out of Haymon's whole stable and has fought on all the platforms, Network and cable TV. And he's gotten paid well to do so. The Porters have never shown any indication of not being loyal to Haymon. Unless there was something said that I missed?

Kenny is unhappy Mikey is in line for a PPV against Spence, when Shawn has a far better resume at Welterweight than Mikey.

[Eff Pandas]

300k is hardcore fans. 1.2 mil is when you start to spill over into casual fans. People who are watching only because they've heard of Kovalev before. Probably couldn't tell you he lost to Alvarez his last fight but they see the name Kovalev and they tune in. His name being able to bring in casuals holds more weight than only hardcore fans watching.

Yea but its a pay platform too. OBVIOUSLY the numbers are gonna be different.

But he's got a history of ratings on HBO that would define his draw better than a one shot deal with DAZN or ESPN is what I'm saying. I don't believe 300k paid viewers or 1.2M free viewers would matter THAT much in a deal. Its a apples to oranges comparison to anyone who knows the business.

[_Rexy_]

Maybe Eddie is being smart and letting everyone shoot their load? I'm sure there's nothing in the DAZN deal that says he has to blow the full $125m a year. If it is truly an 8 year deal then he can afford to be patient and make the right deals for Matchroom and DAZN. When all the Haymon fighters realise the Fox deal won't do anything for them and I think we'll see a lot of them move to DAZN.

yeah, Eddie is losing purse bids and fights by choice.

[Eff Pandas]

But he won't be doing 300k on DAZN. At most he does like 80-90k which may be pushing it as well. DAZN won't crack 100k subscribers for AT LEAST a year, if not more.

I was just using 300k as a example to make a comparison.

Idk what DAZN will or won't do numbers wise honestly. I think its highly speculative still, but I'd definitely bet 75% of my net worth (so like 32 bucks) on the over on them having 100k subscribers inside of 12mos. I think thats a waaaaaay to low estimation.

[Stinger1]

yeah, Eddie is losing purse bids and fights by choice.

When there's a meaningful fight that he loses a purse bid for then it is really over for Hearn. But the future of DAZN isn't going to hinge on Hooker v Saucedo which is an undercard fight at best. He has said he's told Breazeale when his mandatory is called for Wilder to let it go to purse bid because he will make a monster bid. When we get a big fight go to purse bid we will know if Matchroom and DAZN are for real but as of yet it's too early to write them off.

[Randall Cunning]

I think Thurman will be calling his title shot in first. So I don't think Spence vs Porter is in the cards at all. Seems like people are forgetting Thurman exists he's been out so long. If they had more time & if Porter wasn't trying to get a better deal they might be able to line it all up before Thurman has his comeback fight. But I suspect Thurman fights this year or January & will throw all these plans in the trash.

Randomly it could get really interesting if Porter does sign with TR. Obviously TR is gonna make that Bud fight or fight Ugas & then Bud, but Thurman is still gonna have his title shot call out ability. So its possible Porter going to TR could setup a Thurman vs Bud (cuz I don't think Porter beats Bud) fight on PPV. Or it leads us to Thurman vs Spence sooner. So I'm curious to see how all that shakes out.

Hold up, Thurman aint a mandatory. Hes still WBA Champion. Hes gunna have his own mandatory to deal with. Never got made a champion in recess either.

[KTFOKING]

I was just using 300k as a example to make a comparison.

Idk what DAZN will or won't do numbers wise honestly. I think its highly speculative still, but I'd definitely bet 75% of my net worth (so like 32 bucks) on the over on them having 100k subscribers inside of 12mos. I think thats a waaaaaay to low estimation.

I don't think that is low at all. It was rumored ESPN+ was at around 200k just a few months ago. And that is ESPN THE worldwide leader in sports with much more content than just Bellator/Racing/Matchroom. No way in hell do they get to 300k by early next year. Remember, this is a complete new start up streaming service in the States. No one knows what it is aside from hardcore boxing fans and some MMA fans.

ESPN+ has Top Rank+UFC....DAZN has Matchroom/Bellator....ESPN+ has NBA/NFL/College sports/Italian Soccer league etc.....DAZN has again just mainly Matchroom/Bellator and some racing. Oh yeah, ESPN+ is half the price of DAZN. The Kovalev/Alvarez fight has to take place before February, so by then I'd bet a good amount on DAZN having less than 100k subscribers....Wouldn't be surprised if it was much less. But they are banking on some folks either being satisfied or not remembering to cancel their subscription after the free month trial so that may help the cause.

[KTFOKING]

Hold up, Thurman aint a mandatory. Hes still WBA Champion. Hes gunna have his own mandatory to deal with. Never got made a champion in recess either.

Right, he's not just getting the WBC shot once he returns. He will have to take care of his own mandatory....After getting a tune up.

[Randall Cunning]

Right, he's not just getting the WBC shot once he returns. He will have to take care of his own mandatory....After getting a tune up.

Then we get a Hearn vs PBC purse bid, as Id imagine itll be Thurman/Vargas. Be an interesting one.