Promoter Eddie Hearn has made his feelings clear the new contenders to the Sky Sports Box Office PPV crown.
Hearn has also admitted Matchroom makes the majority of their earnings from the paid format.
Anthony Joshua, Tony Bellew, Kell Brook, and Dillian Whyte have all been bumped to Sky Sports Box Office in recent years. The movement is becoming a worryingly growing trend.
Other boxing outfits are now doing similar, so fans must fork out extra for fights regularly.
UK pay-per-view
Joshua versus Alexander Povetkin this weekend on PPV adds to the recent Canelo vs. Golovkin rematch. The Wembley showdown will be followed up by George Groves v Callum Smith on ITV Box Office next week. Plus, Alexander Usyk v Tony Bellew in November, Deontay Wilder v Tyson Fury, and Josh Warrington v Carl Frampton in December.
Current and former world champions Warrington and Frampton collide three days before Christmas, and Hearn doesn’t see how it makes good numbers.
Hearn is said to plan a rematch between Dillian Whyte and Dereck Chisora for the same date.
Admitting the new competition to Sky’s domination of PPV is unhealthy, Hearn doesn’t seem worried about being challenged.
“You can’t say it is good for boxing because it is not,” Hearn told The Guardian.
“We are in a strong position because our platform is solid and proven. But what will happen is other fighters will take risks on pay-per-views that won’t work. I’d be astonished if the Josh Warrington vs. Carl Frampton fights in December do 100,000 buys on PPV; so, how are the fighters going to make any money?
“Sky is consistently backing boxing at a level where we can do an Amir Khan fight on Saturday and just about wipe our face.
“What sort of business is that? You work on a Khan card for three to four months, sell 8,000 tickets, and as a promoter, you are thinking: ‘Can I break even? Where we make our money is pay-per-view,'” he added.
COSTLY
In a recent article, WBN estimated the average fan could expect to fork out almost £400 to watch every fight on offer before the New Year.
It’s a big ask, especially for the UK punters. That’s in a climate where the US (traditionally the leading PPV players) is moving towards offering their supporters cheaper boxing on several new streaming services.
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