For anyone who thought Al Haymon’s quest to bring free TV to boxing, meant the end of the sweet science on Pay Per View, think again. PPV is alive and well in boxing.The PPV cards are loaded with boxing’s biggest names and promises to cap off a great year of boxing. Make no mistake about it, free boxing is great, but boxing on its highest level is primarily on PPV in the final quarter of 2015.
The season kicks off with two old rivals, Shane Mosley & Ricardo Mayorga, in a fight that does not make much sense to the boxing community. Neither fighter is a player anymore, and, this card is going head-to-head against one of the best main events of the year for Haymon’s PBC series; Leo Santa Cruz vs Abner Mares, leaving many folks scratching their heads as to why this fight is scheduled on PPV the same night.
However, I think this fight has a good chance to be an entertaining scrap. Mosley has been acting like a crazy person, and we all know the elevator has not gone to the top floor for Mayorga for some time. The PPV numbers will be bleak but I think the boxing community will be scrambling to see this one after the fact.
Next up is Floyd Mayweather Jr. ‘TBE’ takes on Andre Berto. This fight has caught the ire of many boxing fans and the ‘Floyd Is Cherry Picking’ regurgitation is in full force. Just for the record, to claim Floyd is cherry picking is much more ridiculous than Floyd’s own claim of being the best ever. The huge price tag of seventy five dollars may hurt the PPV numbers; Mayweather has been enjoying as of late. Floyd also does not have a big co-star like Canelo or Pacquiao to bring some added PPV buys to the table.
The success or failure of this PPV will be all on Floyd. Predictions are not good for the PPV numbers. Will the hook of Floyd’s last fight be enough to prove the critics wrong? The fans wanted a more meaningful fight for Mayweather’s last act, that much is clear. How many will actually pass up on the last chance to see ‘TBE’ lace em up one last time? We will have to wait and see.
Speaking of Canelo. He is fighting Miguel Cotto, in what many feel is the ‘can’t miss’ PPV of the year and perhaps the fight of the year. The fireworks will be high, as the Mexico versus Puerto Rico rivalry will be in full force in November as two of the most popular, and skilled, fighters of the last five years square off. The biggest upset of the year will be if this fight fails to live up to the hype. This fight also carries a lot of weight in the boxing world. As it has been said the winner of this gem will fight the winner of another big PPV fight.
Gennady Golovkin (GGG) tests the PPV waters in a battle of Middleweight Champions; when he faces David Lemieux, in New York City, this October. GGG has been knocking everyone out that he faces. Many boxing fans feel he has not faced stiff enough challenges and put Lemieux in the same soft touch category. The numbers for this one should be interesting, there is a very good undercard shaping up and GGG is a star in his own right. People tune in to see him fight, on HBO, even if they think he is not facing a stiff enough challenge. Will they pay to see him in the same kind of fight? Remains to be seen.
With so many PPV’s bunched together the customer’s wallet has to be considered. The average person in the United States will not be able to afford all four of these PPV’s. I know I cannot. Especially, with the holiday season right around the corner.
So, as a paying customer, strategy has to come into play. Which fight is a must? Which one will I wait for on replay? I think Canelo versus Cotto is identified as the must here and will be the biggest winner of the PPV battle. The interesting thing will be who claims second place. Will it be Floyd? GGG? Mosley?
I think the numbers for Mayweather versus Berto are going to be much better than anticipated. It is not a bad fight at all. Berto brings a different element to the table and will go out on his shield. Will he win? He has a better chance than most give him, however, that is because many give him no chance. Which is silly. It also, has a great chance to be one of the more exciting fights Mayweather has been in. It would be a shame if so many boxing fans miss it live.
The last quarter of 2015 is going to be a fun and exciting time for boxing fans. Albeit an expensive one.