Oscar de la Hoya’s talent outside the ring will be up for scrutiny when the pay-per-view (PPV) buys record for the upcoming Canelo Alvarez-Erislandy Lara fight at the MGM Grand Arena will be made public after the fight. The Alvarez-Lara fight will be Golden Boy Promotions’ (GBP) first major event under de la Hoya’s watch following his fallout with longtime GBP Chief Executive Officer Richard Schaefer. Now that PPV numbers are becoming the yardstick for measuring the financial success of big events in boxing, de la Hoya will be under extreme pressure to generate substantial PPV buys to eclipse Schaefer’s past PPV records. There is no need to overshadow the PPV number of blockbusters events like the Mayweather-de la Hoya fight back in 2007 or the recent Mayweather-Alvarez as they were staged while de la Hoya was helping in promoting the fights.
From 2009 to 2013, GBP has been making no less than 1 million buys on major PPV events. A PPV sales that make at least 600,000 buys can be considered substantial in the wake of the series of low PPV output of recent high-profile fights that have been heavily promoted. A case in point is the recent fight on HBO between Miguel Cotto and Sergio Martinez which generated a disappointing number of 350,000 buys, as reported by ESPN. De la Hoya’s talent and skill in the ring is beyond question but as a chief executive of one of the largest promotions companies in the world (if not the largest), his performance as CEO of GBP will define his career both as a multi-awarded fighter and as a business executive.
Rodolfo Macias Oscar De La Hoya One of the things that Schaefer and his team did to attract more PPV buyers was to load the event with good upcoming fighters in the undercard. Today’s audience and PPV subscribers want more for their money and they look at the supporting card line up before parting with their hard-earned entertainment money. In the undercard of the Alvarez-Lara fight, GBP has put together a pretty good lineup that includes Abner Mares, who will face Jonathan Oquendo in a 10-round featherweight bout. Also in the supporting card is a junior welterweight fight between Johan Perez and Mauricio Herrera for Perez’s WBA junior welterweight title. In the super featherweight division, Juan Manuel Lopez and Francisco Vargas of Mexico will collide in a 10-round bout for the WBO international super featherweight title. It is unclear if de la Hoya had a hand in constituting the lineup for the undercard but with proper media exposure that will highlight the fighters in the supporting bouts, they can help generate more PPV sales for the event. Still, de la Hoya should try to be more accessible to media for the needed exposure especially for fighters in the undercard.
