By Norm Frauenheim-
Terence Crawford put the debate back into the pound-for-pound campaign. But there’s no argument about pay-per-view. Canelo Alvarez owns it. Almost monopolizes it.
Perhaps the two, P4P and PPV, shouldn’t be linked. But forget the old apples-and -oranges advice. Punches-and-pay do mix. It’s called prizefighting. It’s one word, sometimes separated only by a hyphen, depending on who’s doing the spell check. Yet, they’re forever one and the same, a little bit like blood-and-sport.
The linkage was never more evident than it has been over the last couple of weeks. It was capped by Crawford’s statement stoppage of Shawn Porter last Saturday in Las Vegas. At one level, it was almost predictable. It was vintage Crawford — always poised, powerful and predatory.
Because of delays throughout the pandemic season and some of the usual divisions in in the balkanized boxing business, however, we just forgot how good – scary good — he really is.
He reminded us, winning a 10th-round TKO over a smart, tough ex-welterweight champion who had never been stopped. Within one round, Porter was down twice, which equaled the number of times he had been on the canvas before the 36th bout in his 13-year career. Then, Porter announced his retirement.
It was stunning. From Keith Thurman to Errol Spence Jr., there have been all kinds of explanations as to why Crawford had not faced the best-known fighters in the 147-pound division. There was the promotional divide, PBC and Top Rank. There were rival networks. Yet in one dynamic performance, Crawford displayed plenty of reasons to avoid him.
The big reason, however, arrived a couple days after the fight. The pay-per-view numbers were a disappointment, despite a capacity crowd of 11,568 at Mandalay Bay’s Michelob ULTRA Arena.
According to various reports, they ranged from 135,000 to 190,000. Whatever the number, it fell short of expectations. The guess before opening bell was 300,000. Top Rank’s Bob Arum had talked about 500,000 to 1.5 million for a bout carried exclusively on ESPN +. That exclusivity might have limited the television audience. Crawford thinks so.
“I feel like there was a lot of opportunities left on the table,” Crawford said Tuesday on Shawn Porter’s podcast, The Porter Way. “You know what I mean? Not only with fighters (like Thurman and Spence), but also with pay-per-view. Like for instance, me and Shawn Porter fought on a app.
“There were so many people that was telling me they don’t know how to get the app on the TV. They don’t know how to do it. And, you know, the average elderly or person that doesn’t — you know, know tech – they’re not gonna know how to get the app on the TV. So, what do they do? They don’t buy.’’
There were other factors. Crawford-Porter was just the latest in a string of pay-per-view bouts. There was Tyson Fury’s wild KO of Deontay Wilder on Oct. 9. There was Canelo’s stoppage of Caleb Plant on Nov. 6.
Then, there’s inflation. The PPV price for Crawford-Porter was $69.99. Add another $6.99 if you weren’t already an ESPN+ subscriber. A month-long subscription was part of the price tag. That comes to $76.98. In other words, do you buy the fight or a tank of gas?
Maybe, the disappointing PPV numbers were also a result of bad scheduling. It was the Saturday before Thanksgiving. Turkey isn’t exactly cheap either.
Trouble is, Crawford’s PPV numbers have never been good, despite his brilliance. That’s problematic for a fighter who was a promotional free agent the second Porter’s father and trainer, Kenny Porter, ended it at 1:21 of the 10th. Then, Crawford indicated he was leaving Top Rank. But his PPV record, more than his unbeaten record, will determine whether he can land a rich deal. The prize in prizefighting is pretty simple: Follow the money.
Arum has talked about a one-fight deal with Crawford versus Scotland’s Josh Taylor, the best fighter in the UK today. It makes sense. Taylor, the unified junior-welterweight champion, would move to 147 to face Crawford, a former unified champion at 140.
However, Arum is talking about doing the fight in the UK. Why? Because Crawford’s PPV numbers make him the so-called B-side. The money for a Crawford-Taylor fight would be in pounds instead of dollars. More Brits than Americans would buy it.
Meanwhile, Crawford’s victory over Porter appears to have resurrected interest in a fight with Spence, who underwent eye surgery in August. Spence was at ringside for Crawford-Porter. So was Taylor. But Spence has stronger PPV numbers than Crawford. That creates a real dilemma for the fighter who – from this corner – emerged from the victory over Porter as the pound-for-pound No.1, ahead of No. 2 Canelo.
But this debate will continue, well into 2022. Canelo has more than punching power. Pay-per-view, he’s undisputed. His victory over Plant did a reported 800,000 buys, or at least 600,000 more than the reported number of customers for Crawford’s victory. The result is that Canelo can do what he wants.
For now, that means Ilunga Makabu instead of David Benavidez.
In a surprise, Canelo manager/trainer Eddy Reynoso asked the World Boxing Council (WBC) for permission to challenge Makabu, the acronym’s cruiserweight champion from The Congo.
The WBC is about the prize, too. There’s money – a good sanctioning fee –in the move. There’s risk, too. Canelo would be jumping up the scale in a bid for a fifth division title. There’s a reason for weight classes. Canelo is in jeopardy of suffering a knockout. He could get hurt.
If he wins, however, he wins the PPV debate. Even if he’s defeated and emerges unhurt, he’s in a no-lose situation. He’ll still have his undisputed super-middleweight title. He’ll be applauded for taking the risk, and applause counts for a lot in the pound-for-pound race, which is inherently political.
For Benavidez, that means more waiting and more calling out Canelo. He did so after blowing out a brave Kyrone Davis in an impressive Phoenix homecoming a couple of weeks ago. If he fights David Lemieux – as rumored — for a mandatory shot at Canelo WBC 168-pound title, Canelo could decide to fight at light-heavyweight. Maybe, Benavidez gets shot at him at 175, Maybe, not.
For now, it’s Canelo’s call. On any scale, he’s got all the clout.
