Any suggestion Gervonta Davis vs Ryan Garcia could sell anywhere near the figures generated by Mayweather vs Pacquiao is a nutso notion.
And rightly so.
Talk of the most significant United States Pay Per View since Tyson Fury vs Deontay Wilder III pushing close or over 4.6 million US buys. That’s a pipe dream.
Gervonta Davis vs Ryan Garcia
Even becoming the first event in six years to topple the one million sales barrier would be an achievement for the catchweight clash.
Pay Per View is not what it once was. That’s a fact. Selling half a million is considered a solid effort in today’s market and probably worth a rematch.
That’s why the likes of Canelo Alvarez vs Gennadiy Golokvin and Fury vs Wilder were trilogies. The latter could become a quadrilogy as it is tough to even make it over 500,000.
Both those previous threesomes hit 800,000 and 600,000, respectively. Solid ground for another effort dependent on the result.
We all know Golovkin won’t get another opportunity after cashing out and being soundly beaten. However, Wilder vs Fury III being 2021 Fight of the Year gives them a pass to make a fourth encounter.
Once you find that special dance partner in the ring, you have to keep hold of them and cherish them. It’s hoped Davis vs Garcia could become one of those, but there are many derogatory factors in play here.
Davis will likely go to jail in 2023, barring a last-minute miracle. He could ask for a stay on his sentence from next month’s trial to face Garcia first, though.
This precedence happened before with Floyd Mayweather in 2012.
If Davis vs Garcia goes ahead on a Showtime/DAZN PPV presentation in the first half of this year, sales north of 300,000 will break new ground for Tank.
According to previous reports, none of Davis’ bouts in the paid platform have reached that benchmark. Therefore, adding Garcia into the mix with his social following, early estimations are that they should do over 500,000.
Mayweather vs Pacquiao
But the 4.6 million smashed by boxing legends Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao in 2017? That’s a huge stretch, even will the power of Instagram and TikTok.
YouTube Boxing, if anything, has taught us that you can have 20 billion followers and still not sell a million Pay Per Views.
Davis vs Garica will be an intriguing fight, of that there is no doubt. But getting over one million could take a barnstorming first fight to spike interest in a rematch.
However, if Davis begins a prison term later this year, they might have to wait until 2026 to get it on again.
It’s safe to say Mayweather vs Pacquiao can rest easy as the record-holding Pay Per View of all time.
Mayweather and Pacquiao could probably rematch now when both are retired and sell more PPVs than Davis vs Garcia.
The views expressed in this article are the opinions of experienced boxing writer Phil Jay. Twitter @PhilJWBN. Follow WBN: Facebook, Insta, Twitter.
