2020 was a year when fighters, promoters and networks were forced to take a lesson in the economics of their business. That, of course, came by way of the pandemic. For the most part, fans were unable to attend live boxing events, or if they could, it was to a severely limited degree.
And boxing bettors got to see how little some of these fighters really understood about the way this business works. Terrence Crawford, who in the minds of many is the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world, didn’t want to fight during the pandemic unless he got paid MORE money, apparently not taking into account that less money was going to be in the pot if the live gate component was not going to be a part of the dynamic.
His promoter, Bob Arum of Top Rank, went through a period of extra stress with his star, because according to his own narrative, the extra money was not going to be there (we’ll talk more about that in a minute). Ultimately he has made a lot of noise about not wanting to lose money with Crawford any more.
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First, a history lesson. If I recall it correctly, Arum had said the same kind of things about Floyd Mayweather. And he actually let him go. He didn’t think he could sell him.
Before I go any further, I should mention that some of this is true. The HBO ratings for Mayweather early in his championship career did not blow anyone’s doors off, and thus Arum didn’t think he could turn him into a viable pay-per-view attraction. And when I attended one of his lightweight title defenses in his hometown of Grand Rapids (that’s in Michigan, folks), with Juan Manuel Marquez in the co-feature, the crowd was sparse enough that I could pretty much sit wherever I wanted.
But considering what has happened since, there was something there that Arum didn’t exploit. Will that wind up being the case with Crawford? Clearly he has the talent to carry the day. But Floyd took ownership of his own “brand,” if you will. Would Crawford do the same?
More lessons here – what a lot of fighters don’t quite understand is that it isn’t enough to be great, or have a belt, or even a collection of them. You have to MEAN something to people. They have to CARE about your story.
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And on the other side of it, let’s be honest – a promoter’s job is to promote, not complain. While it is true that some fighters just don’t have that special something that captures the imagination of the public, I’m not convinced that Crawford is one of them. And when a promoter signs for the promotional rights to a fighter, he is certainly ready and willing to enforce those rights when it’s to their benefit, so they have to take the responsibilities that come along with it. I can tell you this first-hand, because I have had promotional agreements with fighters. The UFC’s Dana White wasn’t wrong when he said that if Arum can’t sell Crawford, that is Arum’s problem to solve (he said it more graphically than we would).
People in this business also should have found out – in case they didn’t know it before – that they don’t have a whole lot of sure-fire successes in pay-per-view. The Charlo brothers, for instance, did not draw sufficiently enough. Even the Fury-Wilder fight did not meet expectations, although promoters may spin a different story.
There are lessons to come, and it’s probably something we’ll talk about at length over the coming weeks. I still don’t see how DAZN makes a $1 billion deal with Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom outfit, or the $36.5 million per-fight arrangement they had with Canelo Alvarez (I may be a tad off on those numbers), where it makes economic sense. I don’t see where the number of monthly subscribers they gained overcomes that expenditure, at least as a stand-alone. For that matter, I can’t imagine how ESPN recoups its investment of $1.8 million per show to Top Rank, largely for an app (ESPN+) that costs $4.99 a month, where boxing is hardly the main attraction.
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When will the economic chickens come home to roost? Is that in the process of happening already?
Stay tuned
