Comments Thread For: Arum: Hearn Doesn't Know D*ck About Promoting In The U.S.

[angkag]

This is just off the top of my head.
As a DAZN subscriber I hope it does well for the good of the sport.

DAZNs success in each country largely revolves around what grip it gets on one or more of the main sports like football (soccer). We naturally focus on its ventures into boxing in this forum, but boxing is only a minor support piece to their overall business plan (which may or may not work out, but there is growing structural value there such that its efforts will continue either stand-alone or as a larger merged entity with another provider).

Eg DAZN to launch in Spain soon, which seems hardly worth it unless it plans to challenge ReIN for the rights to La Liga (DAZN already has the La Liga rights ex-Spain, but not in Spain as not there yet).

And DAZN yet to announce entry to the UK - no idea how it would plan entry there given the competing platforms.

What country are you in ? And what attracted you to DAZN ? (I'm in Spain and will subscribe to DAZN if it has La Liga and EPL, but not due to the boxing content - but that helps of course)

[MulaKO]

The problem is that going to an app only isn’t good for the sport, it further marginalises it from the mainstream when the object should be to push it back to the mainstream. What major sport in the USA is app only? Baseball? Football? Basketball? College hoops? College football? Tennis? NASCAR? NHL? Ufc (Mma)?

I’ve said the same thing
Just not sure why it’s so fughin hard to understand
Mainstream is the way into everyone’s home , plain and simple
Not sure which casual will go out of his way to go purchase the app for a fight
Streaming might be the way of the future , but it’s a very distant future imo

[HURTFEELINGS]

Haymon PAYS FIGHTERS (according to FIGHTERS) DAZN turns away paydays (AJ and the 80 Million)

[N/A]

Hearn should have never asked questions he didn't know the answer to.

When he said, why do all the fights have to be in Vegas and New York? What about Chicago? There are a million reasons why, clearly he didn't know the reasons, and he fell flat on his face trying to go into these other markets. Hell, my show in Chicago last month out drew every Matchroom USA show that wasn't in Vegas or New York.

But he's getting things on track now. Joshua vs. Big Baby is a massive fight in New York. Much bigger than Wilder vs. Breazeale.

Usyk vs. Takam will be a disaster though. Nobody cares about Usyk in the US, let alone Takam. And to stick it in the DC area? Big waste. Usyk vs. Takam, if it's going to be in the US, at best is a co-feature. Back in the day if HBO had a fight like Joshua vs. Miller, Usyk vs. Takam would have be semi-main.

[P4Pdunny]

this old man always got something slick to say

[champion4ever]

It's not that it's no longer mainstream though; folks simply got lazy with the mechanics once HBO become the top payer. If you have one outfit paying the big money, self-interest has folks angling things to that one pot.

The tide is changing though Brooklyn, Las Vegas, and SoCal are still the strongest markets, but (particularly Haymon's effort but others as well) you see the DMV (D.C./Maryland/Virginia) start to shine with MGM National Harbor and the Armory, Minneapolis is now starting to build something for boxing, Dallas/Houston/El Paso are starting to stand out as fight towns again, and other fighters are now setting the stage to bring fights home too.

With the shift in TV (basically now to this new Showtime/Fox Sports world), the general public is getting to see more fighters again, and awareness on TV can lead to more local support.

As an example, Joey Spencer (personally I call him "Kid" Spencer because he can kick your ass yet looks 14/15) is 6-0 and has all 6 of his fights televised. He'll likely run that up another 6 televised fights. By the time he's up to 15-0, the country would've seen him enough to have him feature on his first big stage (maybe even in Detroit).

Errol Spence followed a similar track

You know what be nice? If Deontay Wilder can defend his WBC heavyweight title on the prime time Fox television network. That would be huge not only for Deontay Wilder but for the sport of boxing's popularity as a whole. There hasn't been a live prime time heavyweight championship bout on free television network in years.

[champion4ever]

... because Al Haymon spent the last 2, and maybe 3, Olympic cycles looking for and cultivating the top US talent; Outside of Joseph Diaz Jr and Jose Ramirez, Haymon basically scooped up everyone.

Yes, that is very true.

[angkag]

He's a great promoter.
And what he doesn't know about the US market he'll learn.
He is going to be a major force in US boxing and Arum knows it.

I suspect its more that Hearn has had a behind-the-scenes chat with Bob, and Bob has rammed it home to him that Hearn's best bet is to outsource marketing in the US to the US outfits, and not get trampled on away soil. And whatever one thinks of Hearn, he's smart enough to recognise that Bob is right.

Bob's comment is just signing off on what they agreed behind the scenes (in his own sweet-talking way), and Hearn's good natured reception of it confirmation that whatever got agreed is going to see dollars flow his way, so he doesn't care how Bob words it.

[MulaKO]

I suspect its more that Hearn has had a behind-the-scenes chat with Bob, and Bob has rammed it home to him that Hearn's best bet is to outsource marketing in the US to the US outfits, and not get trampled on away soil. And whatever one thinks of Hearn, he's smart enough to recognise that Bob is right.

Bob's comment is just signing off on what they agreed behind the scenes (in his own sweet-talking way), and wHearn's good natured reception of it confirmation that whatever got agreed is going to see dollars flow his way, so he doesn't care how Bob words it.

I think your reasoning is a little far fetched
Bobfather is too greedy unless he’s pocketing something , I just don’t see it though

[pillowfists98]

It's not that it's no longer mainstream though; folks simply got lazy with the mechanics once HBO become the top payer. If you have one outfit paying the big money, self-interest has folks angling things to that one pot.

The tide is changing though Brooklyn, Las Vegas, and SoCal are still the strongest markets, but (particularly Haymon's effort but others as well) you see the DMV (D.C./Maryland/Virginia) start to shine with MGM National Harbor and the Armory, Minneapolis is now starting to build something for boxing, Dallas/Houston/El Paso are starting to stand out as fight towns again, and other fighters are now setting the stage to bring fights home too.

With the shift in TV (basically now to this new Showtime/Fox Sports world), the general public is getting to see more fighters again, and awareness on TV can lead to more local support.

As an example, Joey Spencer (personally I call him "Kid" Spencer because he can kick your ass yet looks 14/15) is 6-0 and has all 6 of his fights televised. He'll likely run that up another 6 televised fights. By the time he's up to 15-0, the country would've seen him enough to have him feature on his first big stage (maybe even in Detroit).

Errol Spence followed a similar track

lol Joey Spencer is garbage though. Karlos Baldaras is a much more legit prospect. Haymon should start pushing him not Spencer.