Imagine it or not, I kinda, sorta take this boxing writing gig severely. I don’t take the shit-heads, cucks, and stooges seriously– after all. They should be mocked and ridiculed and poked with sharp sticks from outdoors their chimp cages. However I do attempt to construct my whole media presence across the premise of equity. Holding folks equally accountable and held to the identical requirements is an enormous deal in case you’re going to strategy media work as one thing of even marginal value.
So, once I say that Gervonta Davis and David Benavidez are two of my favourite lively fighters and, in the identical breath, say that their upcoming shared-bill pay-per-view [versus Frank Martin and Oleksandr Gvozdyk, respectively] is a cynical misstep, folks actually shouldn’t be all that shocked.
I’ve railed in opposition to the continuous pay-per-view enterprise mannequin employed by boxing corporations lately. Passing the hat all the time, for every thing, could also be a short-term necessity to remain afloat, but it surely’s nothing however a long-term killer as the game’s greatest and most engaging expertise will get buried behind generally two or three paywalls. Boxing folks have us so conditioned to having our pockets picked that we neglect that even subscription providers are pay-per-view. And let’s not even discuss concerning the absurdity of those folks charging for subscriptions and STILL placing something respectable behind a fats PPV worth.
This aggressively anti-consumer ambiance solely serves as a breeding floor for Robin Hood unlawful streamers, who could make increasingly more of an argument that what they do is a good play slap within the face to the grasping bossmen.
My take when folks ask “is that this present definitely worth the worth” has all the time been– It’s in case you select to pay it. That’s nonetheless the appropriate reply. However, within the large image? Boxing businessmen are pocketing pennies on the expense of quarters down the street.
And that takes me again to this coming Saturday’s twin-bill Gervonta Davis, David Benavidez double-header.
Of the fighters presently on the Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) roster, Davis and Benavidez are probably the most engaging and in-their-prime bankable. There are blockbusters inside an arm’s attain for each as Davis has any variety of potential legacy fights within the 135-140 lb. vary and Benavidez remains to be the one actual and true contender to Canelo Alvarez.
So, perhaps the very best thought could be to showcase these skills and entice as many eyeballs to them as doable earlier than grabbing on the generational wealth cash of their subsequent fights– which might be there if extra folks had been uncovered to those thrilling fighters. However, no. They’ll be behind an $80 PPV paywall– in respectable however, let’s be trustworthy, not earth-rattling matchups– that just about ensures solely probably the most die-hard, already-sold followers shall be watching.
Getting the fast cash and getting out could be very a lot a boxing mindset. It brings to thoughts a quote from UFC president Dana White– the one factor from him with which I’ve ever agreed– the place he described boxing’s enterprise mannequin as one eternally “going out of enterprise sale” the place no concern is ever given to future enterprise.
Boxing is brazenly embracing the mindset of a perpetual harvest with no effort to plant for the long run.
Perhaps that is simply the boxing world we dwell in. Perhaps with out the promise of “PPV” cash, these guys wouldn’t be round. However, on the similar time, that is additionally the world we constructed and proceed to construct, thereby guaranteeing that issues gained’t possible change till some nice and wonderful collapse facilitates a much-needed rebuild.
I don’t know. However proper now, within the current tense, I’d like for my buddies and boxing-curious acquaintances to get a take a look at a few of boxing’s most electrifying expertise with out having to dish out a number of days’ value of grocery cash to take action and with out me having to pull all of them over to my place to look at.
This isn’t me being low-cost, that is me having widespread sense. How can we develop the game after we’ve walled off every thing good? If, again within the 80’s, I might’ve needed to pay a loopy price to look at Sugar Ray Leonard, Roberto Duran, Tommy Hearns, and so forth., I by no means would’ve turn out to be a fan within the first place. Why would I make investments hard-earned cash right into a sport I wasn’t aware of and into athletes I had by no means actually seen?
Whereas it’s true that boxing income is up in some areas and with some occasions, that’s simply an phantasm, a bubble able to burst. Having fewer folks paying extra for the privilege of watching just isn’t a profitable enterprise mannequin in case your aim is to run a enterprise past 5-10 years.
Gervonta Davis has accomplished exceptionally effectively for himself, regardless of every thing, turning into the kind of grassroots star everybody in boxing says we so desperately want. In “Tank,” we’re somebody who might be that crossover mainstream star we haven’t had since Mayweather and Pacquiao– one thing manner past simply being a “boxing” star.
However how can we get increasingly more folks to see Tank do his factor?
It’s not by sticking him, in what needs to be a showcase battle, behind a way-too-high paywall.
Perhaps Staff Davis and PBC are hoping for cool viral clips from the battle on social media to additional construct a PPV shopping for base. If that’s the case, that’s fantasy land considering, one thing akin to creating out your family finances based mostly on hopeful lottery scratch-off wins.
However what do I do know? I’m just a few shit-head boxing scribe sporting this ridiculously unrewarded and wildly unappreciated pro-boxing bias.
Bought one thing for Magno? Ship it right here: paulmagno@theboxingtribune.com
