Comments Thread For: Arum: If Loma-Lopez Doesn't Get Viewers I Hope It Gets, Networks Won't Want To Step Up

[DougalDylan]

It's a great fight on a good network if it doesn't sell blame the salesman.

[Pigeons]

Don't worry Bob, I'll be watching. With that said, if a matchup like a Lomachenko-Lopez fails to bring in viewers, maybe we stop blaming the fans and blame the promoters.

If you're selling a really nice exotic car, and every single person that comes into the dealership refuses to buy that car. At some point you're probably going to try a different salesman. I don't think you're going to throw away the car.

[BLASTER1]

It's confusing to figure out what they mean by 'free to watch'.

Here in Australia there is only one cable service that carries ESPN and subsidiaries - and that is Foxtel which costs around $25-$50 per month for a basic package, so it's not available on free-to-air here.

Boxing keeps blaming (somewhat rightfully) low viewership on Corona; but the truth is many main sports reporting outlets, devote little or no time to reporting or covering or promoting the sport except for the Americas, and the U.K.

The subscription services are many and varied, too complex for most people to bother with.

The reality is, boxing is going through a resurgence as an activity, a gym - based workout for soccer mums and young men; but that interest in boxcerxise training is hard to quantify in how many of those people become proper boxing fans.

You have three kinds of fans: First the die hards. We offer the most criticism, the most analysis, the most insight and we are the ones who pay to watch the big fights. There are hardcore diehards who are involved in the sport and watch every show they can concievably watch to keep an eye on the competition and stay up to date with the industry which is their job.

Secondly are the casuals. these are the guys and girls who have had a recent conversion due to the popularity of boxing training in most local gyms and want to learn more by watching 'the best', as well as experience what it's like to sit back and indulge in watching a show.

Then there are those who only turn out for the occasional mega crossover fight. Their cynical but want to see what the fuss is all about and have only heard of Floyd Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao, Canelo, GGG, Loma and AJ.

The real point here is boxing has to find a way to get back into the middle of regular sports coverage - that is the million dollar question.
How can boxing capture regualr sports fans imagination like it did in the 70's and 80's?

Here in Australia we are lucky if the national paper does a paragraph dumped inside the dark reccesses of the sports pages about the latest mega fight.

Boxing needs to undergo a major restructuring and come up with a new way to promote itself to the masses. It can be done. There is something that boxing has that no other sport has - and that is edge of your seat anticipation of the KO.
The spine tingling wars of Gatti v Ward, and Corrales Castillo - the essence of what made those fights great needs to be sold to the public.

As a fellow Aussie and true fan of the sport you make points.
Unfortunately UFC is alot bigger in Australia and i find it hard to even find a boxing fan to talk to.
I would love for Boxing to become huge throughout all nations again.
Just gotta wait for the next Ali to make an impact in the world wide stage.

[Motorcity Cobra]

It's confusing to figure out what they mean by 'free to watch'.

Here in Australia there is only one cable service that carries ESPN and subsidiaries - and that is Foxtel which costs around $25-$50 per month for a basic package, so it's not available on free-to-air here.

Same thing here. ESPN is part of the basic cable package which cost a minimum of $50 a month in most places.

[57Blues]

All said the fight will do fine. As far as the numbers go no problem it is a ligit fight. People are sick of looking at screens reading stuff writing stuff, being told to watch out be careful, dont touch that, clean it good. It will take good old time word of mouth to really set this fight up. Beyound the fight freaks? Man I would have spent a few bucks on junk advertising. Posters on telephone poles, make some noise any noise about anything and insert LOMO - LOPEZ get out of the screens and into the streets. But I am not a promoter just a guy who has alwys watched fights. Still all that have been in contact with me Security at the Bank "Excuse me officer did you kno LOMO LOPEz FREE ? In the food isle damn chicken is high this week they are having the fight you know I tell it to the people in earshot. I have been saying for a long time now the fan is the driver of boxing. And we are like it or believe it or not. It is a fact. Like something tell someone that simple. Now if the annoucners or the Ref or the Judges screw things up ? We got a problem or should I say they got a problem.
BLUES

[PRchamp]

Boxing already building the excuses on why the product sucks. Even with a great fight between Lomochenko-Lopez outside of hardcore fans nobody gives a crap about this fight and that’s sad.

I blame putting on so much crap fights that people stop watching.

Top Rank and Arum going to kill Boxing being shown on ESPN. If it wasn’t Tyson Fury PPV earnings, espn would of pulled the plug a long time ago before the pandemic

[Silver Spear]

It's confusing to figure out what they mean by 'free to watch'.

Here in Australia there is only one cable service that carries ESPN and subsidiaries - and that is Foxtel which costs around $25-$50 per month for a basic package, so it's not available on free-to-air here.

Boxing keeps blaming (somewhat rightfully) low viewership on Corona; but the truth is many main sports reporting outlets, devote little or no time to reporting or covering or promoting the sport except for the Americas, and the U.K.

The subscription services are many and varied, too complex for most people to bother with.

The reality is, boxing is going through a resurgence as an activity, a gym - based workout for soccer mums and young men; but that interest in boxcerxise training is hard to quantify in how many of those people become proper boxing fans.

You have three kinds of fans: First the die hards. We offer the most criticism, the most analysis, the most insight and we are the ones who pay to watch the big fights. There are hardcore diehards who are involved in the sport and watch every show they can concievably watch to keep an eye on the competition and stay up to date with the industry which is their job.

Secondly are the casuals. these are the guys and girls who have had a recent conversion due to the popularity of boxing training in most local gyms and want to learn more by watching 'the best', as well as experience what it's like to sit back and indulge in watching a show.

Then there are those who only turn out for the occasional mega crossover fight. Their cynical but want to see what the fuss is all about and have only heard of Floyd Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao, Canelo, GGG, Loma and AJ.

The real point here is boxing has to find a way to get back into the middle of regular sports coverage - that is the million dollar question.
How can boxing capture regualr sports fans imagination like it did in the 70's and 80's?

Here in Australia we are lucky if the national paper does a paragraph dumped inside the dark reccesses of the sports pages about the latest mega fight.

Boxing needs to undergo a major restructuring and come up with a new way to promote itself to the masses. It can be done. There is something that boxing has that no other sport has - and that is edge of your seat anticipation of the KO.
The spine tingling wars of Gatti v Ward, and Corrales Castillo - the essence of what made those fights great needs to be sold to the public.

Here in the states you have to pay extra to get a channel package to watch the fight. It is televised on CABLE which is extra from your over-the-air channels. You can also download the ESPN app and pay to watch the fight or it will have commercials.

I have my own personal reasons why I think sports in general are suffering but that would take a while to explain. In short, all the SJW clap trap going on in the major sports along with them being team sports and no fans in attendance to hype up the game is causing all the low viewership. If people can only brag about their team online and not in person they tend to stop caring about it altogether.

[Mooshashi]

It's confusing to figure out what they mean by 'free to watch'.

Here in Australia there is only one cable service that carries ESPN and subsidiaries - and that is Foxtel which costs around $25-$50 per month for a basic package, so it's not available on free-to-air here.

Boxing keeps blaming (somewhat rightfully) low viewership on Corona; but the truth is many main sports reporting outlets, devote little or no time to reporting or covering or promoting the sport except for the Americas, and the U.K.

The subscription services are many and varied, too complex for most people to bother with.

The reality is, boxing is going through a resurgence as an activity, a gym - based workout for soccer mums and young men; but that interest in boxcerxise training is hard to quantify in how many of those people become proper boxing fans.

You have three kinds of fans: First the die hards. We offer the most criticism, the most analysis, the most insight and we are the ones who pay to watch the big fights. There are hardcore diehards who are involved in the sport and watch every show they can concievably watch to keep an eye on the competition and stay up to date with the industry which is their job.

Secondly are the casuals. these are the guys and girls who have had a recent conversion due to the popularity of boxing training in most local gyms and want to learn more by watching 'the best', as well as experience what it's like to sit back and indulge in watching a show.

Then there are those who only turn out for the occasional mega crossover fight. Their cynical but want to see what the fuss is all about and have only heard of Floyd Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao, Canelo, GGG, Loma and AJ.

The real point here is boxing has to find a way to get back into the middle of regular sports coverage - that is the million dollar question.
How can boxing capture regualr sports fans imagination like it did in the 70's and 80's?

Here in Australia we are lucky if the national paper does a paragraph dumped inside the dark reccesses of the sports pages about the latest mega fight.

Boxing needs to undergo a major restructuring and come up with a new way to promote itself to the masses. It can be done. There is something that boxing has that no other sport has - and that is edge of your seat anticipation of the KO.
The spine tingling wars of Gatti v Ward, and Corrales Castillo - the essence of what made those fights great needs to be sold to the public.

You don't have college football in Australia....it's HUUUGE here and there are college games on TV Saturday night that many millions will be watching instead of anything else. Personally, I think a return to regular Tuesday night boxing would be great.

All televised sports are down now, not just boxing.

[HandsofIron]

Boxing is the only sport I watch, why don't these fools put it on free tv? I'm not subscribing to an overpriced, cable package that forces me to buy a bunch of useless channels just to watch boxing.

Stream dat ****!

[DaBeastO]

major props to bob arum for putting this on espn and not making it ppv. he could have pulled a move like those greedy bastards at pbc and made it an 80 dollar ppv but he did not! al gaymon should take notes.