Will DAZN's Three PPV Gamble Be Too Much For Boxing Fans?

Longtime readers know that one of the most consistent topics this observer has discussed over the many years that I have covered the sport of Boxing has been the pay-per-view model and more specifically, the increasing need for the sport, those who promote it, and networks that televise it to move away from a model that no longer benefits the sport and rarely offers value to consumers who support it. While I have at times been criticized for my stance that Boxing would be much better off in the long-term picture by adapting a reasonably priced subscription-based approach like what has already been established by digital streaming networks DAZN and ESPN+, my motivation has always been what will benefit the sport and help it grow and be more accessible to anyone who wants to see it regardless of economic scenarios one might find themselves in rather than any vested interests as I do not write or otherwise work for any other outlet or network outside of the one I own and operate here at The Boxing Truth®.

Even as my stance seems to have been increasingly validated as years have gone on as networks that have relied on the pay-per-view model have exited the sport since 2018, coincidentally the same year ESPN+ launched here in the United States and DAZN also entered the U.S. market, despite the sport being in the midst of a transition to being almost exclusively available via streaming, both in response to consumers looking to move away from traditional cable/satellite pay television, as well as general decline continuing in regard to pay-per-view buys, the model still remains more of an issue for the sport rather than a beneficial solution both for Boxing as well as consumers. Although I have been supportive of both DAZN and ESPN+ for each’s introduction of subscription-based alternatives to the model, I would not be objective if I said I have not also criticized both when they have ventured into pay-per-view, despite the evidence that it is not a profitable strategy for either in the now largely streaming-based era.

Many likely remember that when DAZN entered the U.S. market, the main pitch to consumers was pay-per-view quality Boxing events “Without The Pain of Pay-Per-View!" Their reasoning for eventually venturing into pay-per-view starting in 2022 was as a means to attract fighters and promoters who have insisted on the model to the negotiating table. It should also not be overlooked that at the time, much like many others businesses globally, DAZN was in the process of recovering from the effects of the global COVID-19 epidemic, so the move to what they insist is a “Selective/Sporadic" use of pay-per-view may have been seen and justified by some as a necessity.

As the pay-per-view model has continued to decline with the latest casualty being pay-per-view distributor InDemand preparing to cease operations by the end of 2025 ending 40 years as a primary pay-per-view distributor across cable/satellite providers in the United States and in recent years streaming via it's PPV.com platform, even as DAZN and platforms like Prime Video have continued doing periodic pay-per-view events, despite the evidence that it is not being embraced by consumers, one may be tempted to ask when will common sense enter the equation? More specifically, when will it no longer be ignored that things need to change as no doubt such stubbornness has to negatively impact the bottom line.

Perhaps the next example that will be used to illustrate the need to change will come in the coming weeks as DAZN will present three pay-per-view events in a span of one week.  First, on April 26, DAZN will air the highly anticipated grudge match between sons of Boxing legends Chris Eubank and Nigel Benn, two-time world champion Chris Eubank Jr. and Conor Benn, which will take place at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, England, which will be available for $24.99 here in the United States.

While that price point on it's own is certainly budget-friendly and a throwback to a time where most Boxing pay-per-view cards were priced under $30 and were less frequent throughout the 1980’s and part of the 1990’s, one might wonder how consumer-friendly the price might be when one considers that on May 2nd and 3rd back to back pay-per-view cards will be held also on DAZN.

First on May 2nd, a card headlined by a triple header featuring Ryan Garcia facing Rolando Romero, Devin Haney facing Jose Ramirez, and WBO Jr. Welterweight world champion Teofimo Lopez defending his title against Arnold Barboza will take place outdoors in Times Square in New York City. This will be followed on May 3rd when Unified WBO/WBA/WBC Super-Middleweight world champion Saul “Canelo" Alvarez will be attempting to become a two-time Undisputed Super-Middleweight world champion when he faces undefeated IBF world champion William Scull in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Beyond the latter being the first time Alvarez has fought in the increasing hotbed of Boxing in Saudi Arabia and a significant shift in Alvarez not fighting on Cinco De Mayo weekend in Las Vegas, and the Times Square event bringing the overdue return of Hall of Fame broadcaster and longtime HBO play by play voice Jim Lampley to calling Boxing for the first time since HBO exited the sport in 2018, one would be justified in questioning if one or both of these events will be priced consumer-friendly considering that there will be a pay-per-view card just days before.

Although it should be pointed out that like any sporting event, some events will draw more eyes than others, the question here is will this gamble for DAZN be too much for Boxing fans given the state of economic conditions and whether these events will fit into one's budget. While it needs to be noted that all three of these cards are being promoted in part by the Riyadh Season group that has largely established Boxing’s footprint in Saudi Arabia and who has generally began to price their pay-per-view cards in a more consumer-friendly approach, the question that needs to be asked is how much is too much?

How much is too much not only in regard to the frequency of when these cards take place, how closely they are placed on the schedule to each other, and finally the price points to not only draw in the interest of the hardcore Boxing enthusiasts, but also the casual sports fan? For DAZN, the question should also be whether the value of a monthly or annual subscription to their network is going to be diminished by not only doing pay-per-view a bit more frequently than the pledge of “Selective/Sporadic?" Furthermore, is it a disservice to their network that is still growing to not include these events as part of a subscription to the network for existing subscribers? 

While price points for the May 3rd and 4th events have not been announced as of this writing, I do believe that if pay-per-view is going to continue to be used by networks/platforms that already have established subscription-based models that it should be used as a way to draw in consumers who may not be subscribed to try these networks. For existing subscribers, it should be either included with their subscriptions, which would be the more common sense approach, or should be offered to subscribers at a reduced price that should not exceed $30 regardless of who might be on the card. 

Under circumstances like this with three cards occuring within a week’s time, perhaps selling the three events as a package bundle with a budget-friendly price with a cap of under $60 should be something DAZN should consider. Unfortunately, numbers will continue to generally decline only with rare exceptions without adapting to the changing landscape. This includes folks who get on social media platforms and boast about how they will look for not so legal walk-arounds to access events that either do not fit within their budget or they simply have no interest in paying for.

Although I discourage such practices and pay the same fees as the average consumer to ply my trade, though I do sympathize with those who feel they have no other options to watch the sport they love, the way to reach those folks is not by continuing to rely on a model that consumers continue to reject and perhaps in spite of evidence continuing to resist change, which whether networks or promoters want to admit it or not will ultimately benefit them and the sport. Unfortunately until such realization occurs with networks having left the sport largely due to their over reliance on pay-per-view, with one network in ESPN perhaps either nearing an exit itself or a significant revamp in terms of their commitment to the spot by the end of 2025, it will be up to DAZN, who despite their growth, will have to make the decision as to how long they want to walk a tightrope by using a model that they were insisting on changing at the risk of alienating their subscribers not just here in the United States, but globally. At the risk of being unpopular, that is a gamble that may not be worth taking.

“And That’s The Boxing Truth." 

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Benavidez-Andrade Take Boxing's Spotlight On Thanksgiving Weekend 2023

There are several weekends throughout the calendar year that Boxing fans look forward to every year. Whether it be on the fourth of July weekend, Cinco De Mayo, or Mexican Independence Day weekend to name a few, there is always at least one Boxing event that draws interest. One holiday weekend that is normally associated with great food, parades, NFL Football, and of course, shopping as the official beginning of the Christmas holiday season, is Thanksgiving weekend here in the United States. While the aforementioned activities will always be first in mind for many, one aspect of Thanksgiving weekend that at times can be overlooked is that it has periodically also been a destination for Boxing.

The 2023 Thanksgiving weekend will be headlined by a battle between two undefeated former world champions in an intriguing Super-Middleweight elimination bout. Former WBC Super-Middleweight world champion David Benavidez will meet former two-division world champion Demetrius Andrade in a WBC elimination bout to determine the next number one contender as far as the WBC is concerned for current Undisputed Super-Middleweight champion Saul “Canelo" Alvarez. A fight that will take place at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, NV that can be seen in the United States on Showtime Pay-Per-View in the main event of what will be the final pay-per-view card produced by Showtime Sports before the network exits the sport of Boxing at the conclusion of 2023.

In some ways, this fight, though not for a world championship, brings together two fighters who have each been regarded as both among the best in the sport and arguably two of the most avoided fighters as well. Fighters with styles like Benavidez and Andrade are indeed viewed by some as a high risk, low reward scenario. This is due to both being crafty, elusive boxers, each with the ability to box, but also having solid hand speed and punching power. Such attributes have rightfully earned both the label as a dangerous option for potential opponents to take and many including for the moment, Alvarez, have for whatever reason chosen other options rather than face either Benavidez or Andrade.

Thus, it has created a unique and somewhat rarely seen scenario where two fighters labeled as both “Dangerous" and “Avoided" have the option of facing each other in the hope that a victory will allow them not just an opportunity to fight for another world championship, but also the potential for a significantly lucrative payday by potentially facing Alvarez. Perhaps such a scenario points out a flaw that can unfortunately exist from time to time in the sport of Boxing in that, despite being a former world champion and being among the highest skilled fighters in the sport as both Benavidez and Andrade are, it does not necessarily equate to getting the most lucrative opportunities, at least without going through significant hurdles beforehand.

Nevertheless, the fight between the two does present what should be an interesting clash of styles where the question going into the fight might be who will take the initiative. Although both fighters can do many of the same things inside the ring, a small wrinkle that some might point to that could give Andrade an edge is that David Benavidez is traditionally a slow starter. While the counter argument is that by starting slow it allows Benavidez an opportunity to assess what his opponent has, against a fighter like Andrade, starting slow might ultimately work against him if Andrade is able to find his rhythm early and dictate the tempo of the combat.

Where Benavidez’ strength is, is as a fight progresses, he picks up his offensive output and tends to throw punches at a significantly high volume. This could be a key if the fight gets into the middle and late rounds because Demetrius Andrade has not to date faced a fighter with the type of hand speed or punching power that his opponent in this bout Benavidez has in his arsenal as he will likely be trying to apply pressure that Andrade has not experienced before in the middle and late stages of the fight. By the same token, Benavidez has not faced a fighter with either the hand speed or power that Andrade has and he has never faced a fighter with Andrade’s skill.

What this creates for the Boxing fan is a true case of the element of the unknown as there is a legitimate question as to what will happen when the two fighters get in the ring because for all intents and purposes, this looks to be an even fight at least on paper. As interesting as this fight appears to be, it will be taking place under the shadow of Showtime’s impending exit from the sport after thirty-seven years as one of the powerhouses in Boxing.

Although this observer will have more thoughts about that subject as we get closer to the end of 2023 in an upcoming column here on The Boxing Truth®️, one might wonder with the network having announced their impending exit in October, if that will hurt or perhaps help the potential pay-per-view buys for this bout. While there is significant evidence to suggest that the overuse of an outdated and overpriced model of pay-per-view has led to Showtime and to be more specific it's parent company Paramount Global seeking to leave the sport, it is still a shame that a fight like this, which deserves significant attention, has not been given the same type of promotional pudh as some previous Showtime Pay-Per-View events. Even if this fight as many others before it would likely have more eyes viewing it if it were available live on Showtime's cable network or even Paramount's streaming network Paramount+ than it probably will on pay-per-view, it nevertheless has the potential to be a great fight.

“And That's The Boxing Truth." 

Benavidez vs. Andrade takes place on Saturday, November 25th at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, NV. The fight can be seen in the United States on Showtime Pay-Per-View beginning at 8PM ET/5PN PT for $74.99. The pay-per-vieq broadcast will be available on traditional cable/satellite telco providers as well as streaming pay-per-view platforms such as FITE and PPV.com. Contact your local cable/satellite provider for more information.

To order and stream on the FITE app on mobile, tablet, and connected streaming devices/Smart TVs Click here to order and for additional instructions on how to download the FITE app. 

To order and stream on the PPV.com app on mobile, tablet, and connected streaming devices/Smart TVs and for instructions on how to download the PPV.com app Click here.

(*Check your local listings Internationally.*)

(*Card and Start time Subject To Change.*)

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Can Ryder Upset Alvarez?

For some fighters, the path to a world championship fight is not as simple as it might seem. Some are able to get their opportunity off of the strength of an impressive win, which in turn serves as the catalyst to drum up support for said fighter to fight for a world title. While this may seem like the quickest path to one getting a shot, there are countless other fighters that must for lack of a better term rely on the structure that be in the sport, which means for a fighter to work their way to a mandatory position to force a shot at a world championship.

This is precisely the path that Super-Middleweight contender and former world title challenger John Ryder has taken, which has seen him fight his way to the number one contender's position in the World Boxing Organization's (WBO) Super-Middleweight ratings, which has now resulted in the native of London, England now being on the brink of the biggest fight of his career. A fight where he will challenge current Undisputed Super-Middleweight world champion Saul "Canelo" Alvarez for all the marbles in the 168lb. Super-Middleweight division. Ryder's second opportunity to fight for a world championship will not just be for an undisputed championship, but will also come against one of the biggest stars in the sport when he faces Alvarez in Guadalajara, Mexico on May 6th, which can be seen globally on digital subscription sports streaming network DAZN and DAZN Pay-Per-View here in the United States and in Canada.

By now, this observer does not need to go into a long in-depth chronicle of the career of Saul Alvarez, a fighter known to his fans simply as "Canelo." Alvarez' status as a future Hall of Famer is cemented at this stage of his career. The current Undisputed Super-Middleweight King has however, hit a bump in the road recently when he was thoroughly out boxed when he moved up to Light-Heavyweight to challenge undefeated WBA world champion Dmitry Bivol in May of last year. Although Alvarez was able to bounce back from the twelve round unanimous decision loss to Bivol by decisioning Middleweight world champion Gennady Golovkin in their third meeting in September of last year, there are some who question whether Alvarez has truly recovered from the loss to Bivol from a psychological standpoint.

It may indeed be true that Alvarez was out boxed by a master boxer in Bivol, but this observer does not necessarily feel that, that loss or what proved to be a more difficult fight than some might have expected the third time around against a fighter in Gennady Golovkin, who is closer to the end of his career than he is the prime of his career, necessarily signals a decline in Alvarez, but there is no disputing that 2022 was not the best year for him. Now as Alvarez prepares to defend his crown for the first time in 2023, he will be fulfilling his mandatory defense obligations as far as the WBO is concerned when he faces Ryder in his hometown at the Akron Stadium. What has all the appearance of a "Homecoming Fight" for Alvarez and has even been marketed as such taking place during Cinco De Mayo weekend, this may turn out to be a more dangerous fight than some might expect.

Despite suffering five losses in his career up to this point, John Ryder has only been stopped once in his career and that stoppage came eight years ago at the hands of Nick Blackwell. Ryder has since proven to be quite durable and even in fights he has lost such as to former Super-Middleweight world champion Callum Smith, in his first attempt at a world championship, there is some argument as to Ryder having been on the bad end of some decisions that could have gone either way. Since his loss to Smith in November 2019, Ryder has won four straight fights that has served to build a wave of momentum including a twelve round split decision win over former IBF Middleweight world champion Daniel Jacobs in February of last year that secured him the number one ranking in the WBO ratings.

In addition to the momentum he has been able to build going into this fight, the challenger may have something else working in his favor. Although there is no disputing that Alvarez is one of the biggest stars in the sport, his position has also afforded him the opportunity to schedule his fights or at least his intention to fight well in advance of when he actually competes. In the current scenario, Alvarez has already stated that he would like a rematch with Dmitry Bivol in September. Therefore, the possibility exists that the champion could well be overlooking an opponent with an eye on avenging his defeat to Bivol.

While it is important to keep in mind that John Ryder will be walking into the equivalent of a lion's den by facing Alvarez in his hometown with a potential record crowd of supporters on his corner, Ryder literally has nothing to lose here and if Alvarez is not taking this fight seriously, it could play right into his hands. How can John Ryder pull off an upset on what will be hostile ground? 

The most obvious approach will be for Ryder to establish the tempo of the combat immediately and make it difficult for Alvarez to get into a rhythm. This can prove to be easier said than done, however, Ryder does have a style where he does come forward and he can make fights difficult on opponents by grinding out rounds where he is able to outwork them in volume of punches, while also making it difficult for his opponent to get his punches off. While the approach is not necessarily the most entertaining to watch, it is effective when Ryder is able to execute it effectively.

What Ryder needs to keep in mind however, in his approach of how he tries to attack Alvarez, is that Alvarez has always been very compact with his offense and in particular is a very dangerous counter puncher in addition to having punching power. Although anything can happen once two fighters are in the midst of battle, there are likely some who feel that John Ryder will essentially have to fight a perfect fight here if he is going to have a chance to win this fight, particularly if the bout goes the distance as every advantage one could point to outside of the matching between the two fighters, also favors the champion from the home crowd advantage, to that advantage possibly being able to influence how a bout is scored, which could prove crucial if there are rounds throughout the fight that might seem close.

Although judges are not supposed to be influenced in any way when they score a fight beyond what is going on in the ring, the atmosphere of a massive and loud crowd does indeed play a role otherwise one is not human. This does not mean to suggest any possible corruption, but the point this observer is making is with what is likely to be a massive and loud crowd in attendance, the possibility that judges might have trouble maintaining focus due to noise is very real, which unfortunately can play a role in the outcome if the fight does indeed go all twelve rounds.

Despite the fact that everything seems to favor Alvarez and keeping in mind that this is a mandatory defense of one of the  world championships that he holds that compromise the Undisputed Super-Middleweight championship of the world, a real question that should be asked as this fight approaches in addition to whether Alvarez is looking ahead towards a potential rematch with Dmitry Bivol, is just how long will Alvarez remain in the 168lb. Super-Middleweight division. At this stage of his career and keeping in mind that he did briefly hold a world championship in the Light-Heavyweight division, it is likely a fight by fight process for him as opposed to committing to trying to have as lengthy and successful reign as champion as possible. Whether John Ryder can surprise many and dethrone Alvarez in his "Homecoming" remains to be seen.

"And That's The Boxing Truth."

Alvarez vs. Ryder takes place on Saturday, May 6th at Akron Stadium in Guadalajara, Mexico. In North America, the fight can be seen on DAZN Pay-Per-View for $54.99. Outside of the United States and Canada, the bout can be seen on DAZN internationally as part of a standard monthly or annual DAZN subscription and an on demand replay of the bout as well as it's full undercard will be made available following the event. The broadcast will begin at 6PM ET/3PM PT with The DAZN Boxing Show: Before the Bell, which will feature preliminary bouts. The pay-per-view broadcast will begin at 7PM ET/4PM PT. (* U.S. Times Only*)

For more information about DAZN including schedules, list of compatible streaming devices, platforms, Smart TVs, availability around the world, local start times in your area, and to subscribe and verify if pay-per-view access is required in your region for this event please visit: www.DAZN.com. 

For non-DAZN subscribers/users in North America, the card will also be available on traditional cable/satellite providers and PPV.com and the PPV.com app on mobile, tablet, and connected streaming devices/Smart TVs, for $79.99. Visit www.PPV.com to order and for instructions on where to download and access the PPV.com app or contact your cable/satellite provider for ordering information.

(*Card and start time subject to change, check DAZN.com for local start times internationally.)

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