Tweet
Boxing promoters have figured out us hardcore fans will watch boxing no matter who’s fighting... and they’re taking advantage.
Just think back 20 years ago, when it seemed like every fight was entertaining and competitive and there always seemed to be big name fighters fighting each other all throughout the year. Almost every PPV seemed like a “fight of the century” type fight as well and they were happening all the time.
The ratings were the same as they are now and same with the PPV sales. It’s because unless it was a huge PPV that involved a huge crossover star, those who aren’t hardcore fans just didn’t care.
So the promoters have turned everything into a showcase fight for their name guys. We still watch and the ratings are the same, so why not do this?
Then the promoter hopes to build towards that big name fight that’s years down the line. They hope all the talk about how in demand the fight is will bring casual fans in for a big time PPV. The good PPVs are now drawing bigger numbers than they ever have because we’re so starved to see the fight that the casual fans even understand it’s a big deal and they tune in.
This has made the standard televised boxing match almost unwatchable and the average PPV is what a typical standard HBO/SHO televised fight used to be. The fight of the century type PPVs, which used to happen multiple times a year are now actually once in a century type events. It’s really bad for the sport.
I hope we all start demanding more from the promoters. I hope as boxing fans we all cancel our cable subscriptions, our apps and only buy PPVs when the top two guys in a division fight. I think it would change things for the better and have us back in the glory days of HBO and Showtime quickly. Promoters would get the message that we need to see competitive fights between top fighters.
Unfortunately I think we’ll all keep watching everything they give us (I’m guilty of it too) because we just love boxing so much and we’re starved for it. Nothing will change and maybe it’ll get even worse.
I hope I’m wrong but I don’t think I am.
Just think back 20 years ago, when it seemed like every fight was entertaining and competitive and there always seemed to be big name fighters fighting each other all throughout the year. Almost every PPV seemed like a “fight of the century” type fight as well and they were happening all the time.
The ratings were the same as they are now and same with the PPV sales. It’s because unless it was a huge PPV that involved a huge crossover star, those who aren’t hardcore fans just didn’t care.
So the promoters have turned everything into a showcase fight for their name guys. We still watch and the ratings are the same, so why not do this?
Then the promoter hopes to build towards that big name fight that’s years down the line. They hope all the talk about how in demand the fight is will bring casual fans in for a big time PPV. The good PPVs are now drawing bigger numbers than they ever have because we’re so starved to see the fight that the casual fans even understand it’s a big deal and they tune in.
This has made the standard televised boxing match almost unwatchable and the average PPV is what a typical standard HBO/SHO televised fight used to be. The fight of the century type PPVs, which used to happen multiple times a year are now actually once in a century type events. It’s really bad for the sport.
I hope we all start demanding more from the promoters. I hope as boxing fans we all cancel our cable subscriptions, our apps and only buy PPVs when the top two guys in a division fight. I think it would change things for the better and have us back in the glory days of HBO and Showtime quickly. Promoters would get the message that we need to see competitive fights between top fighters.
Unfortunately I think we’ll all keep watching everything they give us (I’m guilty of it too) because we just love boxing so much and we’re starved for it. Nothing will change and maybe it’ll get even worse.
I hope I’m wrong but I don’t think I am.
Comment