[Previous entry: "Boxing Addicts"] [Main Index] [Next entry: "116th N.E. Tournament"]
11/07/2003 Archived Entry: "THE CRAP CHUTE: JONES-TARVER PPV"
The Crap Chute: The Jones-Tarver PPV
By GorDoom
There is no way in hell the Ol' Spit Bucket is gonna shell out 4O-plus clams for this dreary card. I swore to myself a few years ago that I wouldn't buy Roy's PPVs anymore. With the exception of the Ruiz fight, I've stuck to my guns.
I'm more than willing to wait until the following weekend to watch it on HBO. PPVs like Jones-Tarver & Barrera-Kelly & De La Hoya-Campas are disgraceful farces. Part of the problem is that, with the exception of Oscar, they are simply paying the fighters too much money in comparison with their actual drawing power. For instance, why the hell did Showtime pay Holyfield five-million bucks to fight Toney? What has Holyfield done in the last few years to deserve that kind of a payday? Normally I'm all for fighters squeezing out every last shekel they can get. I've always felt that out of all professional athletes, only boxers & NFL & NHL players truly earn their money. But at some point, reality has to set in … I work in the music business & represent national recording artists. I can tell you that their pay for live appearances is based strictly on actual draw. The fact that you had a hit a few years ago and maybe aren't at your peak now affects your earning power. If you can't put asses in the seats, your guarantees are going to dwindle & so are the gigs. The same applies to the ticket price for your shows. Boxing doesn't do that. The promoters will overpay "name" fighters & funnel that cost to us in the form of bogus PPVs & inflated ticket prices. Holyfield-Toney reportedly had fewer than 150,000 buys & was a financial disaster of such proportions for Showtime that it had to plead with Holyfield to defray $3 million of his $5 million purse until next year. Well, gee fellas, couldn't you see this one barreling down the tracks on you like a runaway freight train? Part of the blame falls on us, the consumers. We—& I definitely am including myself into this equation—have gullibly shelled out gazillions over the decades for some really piss-poor fight cards. This has only encouraged the networks to keep overpaying faded stars & foisting these shams onto a public that eats them up like simps. There is only one way to force change in this scenario: With our wallets. Holyfield-Toney was a good start. A real message could be sent with the upcoming Jones-Tarver card. Why should we pay 40-plus dollars for this dreary card? They are paying Roy millions for this fight, but based on his actual draw, Roy has been way overpaid for his services for years. Now, before anybody gets their knickers all wadded up in a bunch, what I'm talking about has nothing to do with Roy's abilities as a fighter, which at times are otherworldly. "Kid Gravity" is without a doubt the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world. But his enormous talents have not translated to crossover superstardom à la Oscar De La Hoya. I had a friend visiting from California a few weeks ago who is also in the music biz, working for Metallica. The band is into sports & has done things like play in the Raiders parking lot before the AFC Championship. My friend is a sports fan in a general sense; he likes boxing & has watched a few fights with me. While he was over, we were shooting the shit about music & sports. He looked up & saw a laminated press pass for Roy’s fight with Clinton Woods in Portland last year. He looked at it & turned to me & said: “Who’s Roy Jones?” & that, dear readers, is His Royness’ problem in a nutshell. The general sporting public doesn’t know who he is. Or, more importantly, care … Yet Roy is demanding Oscar money, & HBO is forking it over. Why? It’s a mystery to me. Sooner or later, there is going to have to be a cost correction. You can’t keep giving fighters with marginal draws millions of dead presidents if they are not worth it & expect the public to eagerly keep paying for crappy PPVs. Now, I’m not against PPVs in principle. I’ve got no problem paying for a good card that gives me some bang for my buck. For instance, Don King’s December 13 PPV, which features five title bouts, looks like a good return for the gelt. On it are Ricardo Mayorga, Bernard Hopkins, Hasim Rahman, Zab Judah & Rosendo Alvarez, all against fair-to-middling opposition. That’s worth it, & when you think about it, $49.95 for a few hours of entertainment in the comfort of your own bunker is a bargain these days. Especially if you share the cost with a few friends. Throw in a little food, booze, & herbal stuff, & you've got yourself a pretty cheap party. But the bottom line is that the card has to have some compelling fights. Jones-Tarver, Wright-Santos, & Taylor-Martinez is simply not a PPV-worthy card. & it’s time that we demanded & got better. & the only way to do that is like I said earlier: With our wallets.
Replies: 3 Comments on this article
I agree with most of the comments about PPV generally, but I disagree with respect to Roy Jones, Jr.. Without looking at actual dollar amounts I would guess that Roy is clearly second to Oscar in terms of draw. And Oscar is generally helped by the fact that we know his opponents usually are not going to be tremendously less talented than he is, and therefore we'll have an entertaining fight. With all due respect to your buddy, anyone who knows ANYTHING about the fight game would know who Roy Jones, Jr. is, and that he's generally recognized as the best fighter in the sport for the last several years. Hell, my wife knows who he is and she couldn't tell you the difference between a jab and an uppercut. But more importantly, we know that for as much money the fighter makes, they only get a small portion after all is said and done and the promoter gets paid. Just like the owners of teams in other sports - they pay the athletes based upon what they can afford to keep the franchise profitable. As long as Jones, Jr. gets his check I'm sure he doesn't care if it's on PBS. Usually some fiarly savvy businessmen can figure out what the public would pay PPV for and what they won't. That being said, whoever thought Holyfield would be a PPV draw at this point may want to consider a career change.
Posted by dcmays@bryancave.com">DMays @ 11/10/2003 01:19 PM EST
you said it all.good thing i steal cable!i don't feel bad at all.before that i did buy every pay for view that came down the pike. does anyone remember a couple of years ago when pretty much EVERY ppv undercard was decent? although when i was still paying, i DID pass up on a roy jones ppv and this is coming from someone who couldn't bear to miss a big fight.
i was shocked to see how good don king's card is in dec. when i read the names of the undercard i could scarcely believe it. at least don king knows how to put a card together.
adambomb
Posted by adambomb @ 11/08/2003 02:23 PM EST
Damn straight. And next week you get to see Barrera against Pacquaio on regular HBO. I guess they will also show a rerun of the Jones/Tarver blowout (I mean fight). I would rather pay for the Barrera fight then watch Jones blow out another outclassed opponent. Whoever heard of an 8-1 underdog (besides Yori Boy and Flushing Flash) headlining a PPV card. Whatever happened to PPV cards featuring two of the BEST fighters.Hey, did you see the HBO PPV card on the 22nd. Levander Johnson versus Javier Jauregui? PPV? Come on!
Posted by Fiend @ 11/08/2003 02:01 AM EST
