STOP RIPPING US OFF!
IF the narrative for a pay-perview event is “without PPV this fight can’t be made”, it leads me to two points. Firstly, in the instance of Joseph Parker v Dereck Chisora, my reply would be “so be it”. There’s no great loss to anyone if this fight doesn’t get made. It’s not an uninteresting fight but it matters little in the heavyweight landscape - ‘a fight to be the gatekeeper of the heavyweight top 10’ I saw it accurately described. As you covered, Chisora’s record in fights that matter is poor. Parker, judged on his record, style and recent form is not box office material either. It’s questionable whether either would have ever been PPV previously but for the opposition they were facing. Now they are passed off as PPV veteran fighters as a result.
Secondly, it’s a disingenuous argument often peddled by those promoting a fight (I reluctantly used a plural as the main offender is readily identifiable) to divert attention away from what you get from your sports TV subscription(s). Sky’s PPV bar is shockingly low and this was happening before Covid. For people to simply say “don’t buy it, then” takes away from proper scrutiny of what you are getting for your subscription(s).
I subscribe to three separate platforms mainly for boxing, before any PPV, and there is still a lot you don’t get to see (like Artur Beterbiev last month). I don’t mind paying for watching a sport. What I do object to is having to pay multiple times for the same sport and then having what you are paying for diluted and diverted to PPV so you’re paying again.
The touted price for AJ V Fury has been mentioned as £40 in some sections and £50 in others due to Covid and the absence of a live gate. Make no mistake, if certain promoters (again with the unnecessary plural) price this up at either of these figures it’s a precedent that’s here to stay for the biggest fights. I’ve seen some fans asking for PPV events to be banded eg Parker v Chisora at £10. Again, this is diverting away from scrutiny of what you get for your existing subscriptions and waving a white flag to the broadcasters and promoters.
As a fan, I feel we are getting rinsed and not getting sufficient content for our multiple subscriptions. John Graham
PROGRAIS CAN DO BETTER
WHY all the swearing and shouting? Though celebrity boxing is not remotely my bag I watched the Triller event so I could see Regis Prograis after reading the excellent Donald Mcrae piece in Boxing News (April 15). I was stunned to hear the language of the commentators. I understand the need to appeal to a certain demographic but this was another level. Prograis should distance himself from such moronic broadcasting. Matthew Henderson