Fight fans are fixated on numbers fairly often, most especially when a ppv runs.
Everyone is a guessing guru pre fight as they predict how many buys a show will do.
On Saturday, up against stiff competition in free NCAA hoops, the ppv topped by Gennady Golovkin against Brooklyn cancer beater Danny Jacobs did over 150,000 buys, or will, when final tallies are done. This according to Golovkin promoter Tom Loeffler of K2.
Some 19 thousand plus enjoyed the main event and a thriller co feature. The buy rate will exceed that of the one done for Golovkin v David Lemieux. About a thousand more people went to the arena to watch that co-promotion with Golden Boy live at MSG in October 2015.
Loeffler said of this ppv offering, “Lemieux did 150 and this is projecting to be higher than that.”
So, is he happy or sad or somewhere in between regarding the market response to the ppv? “Anytime we can improve on previous numbers for a GGG fight at MSG we are happy, we broke the merchandise sales record for a boxing match at MSG that he set for the Lemieux fight, we nearly doubled the gate revenue and it is projected to exceed the PPV revenue. We added two new sponsors of global brands where he is now a brand ambassador for Hublot and Chivas and anytime you can defend all of his titles against a world class opponent like Danny with a unanimous decision and a knockdown, that's a big accomplishment!”
MY TAKE: He didn't mention, the crap weather maybe prevented the last empty seats from getting filled. All told, no, not a home run on the buy rate. This indicates continuing softness in the space, a sign of economic uncertainty, lack of growth in discretionary income, piracy/streaming issues and battling free i.e. college hoops. Also, it helps to have a hype man topping the bill, have a shit stirrer banging the drum of publicizing. GGG is a brain rattler, not a shit stirrer.
