This may not be the best time to enter the pay-per-view universe. But Terence Crawford believes he?s ready to get people to pay to watch him fight on TV.
So does Crawford?s promoter, Top Rank chairman Bob Arum.
Crawford, the World Boxing Organization junior welterweight champion, faces World Boxing Council champ Viktor Postol on July 23 at the MGM Grand Garden on HBO PPV. The asking price is $49.95, half of what 4.4 million people were paying for the dud that was Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Manny Pacquiao a year ago.
?We?re hoping Crawford can do 100,000 (buys),? Arum said earlier this week in Los Angeles, where the kickoff to the promotion was held at the Beverly Holton Hotel. ?We?ve invested a lot of time and money building up Terence on HBO and we think this fight, which is a helluva fight, is the perfect opportunity to introduce him to the pay-per-view audience.?
Crawford believes he has paid his dues and can develop into a PPV star.
?Absolutely,? he said. ?Anyone who has seen my fights knows I?m going to put on an exciting performance and give you your money?s worth.?
He has done that. At 28-0 with 20 knockouts, Crawford is a legitimate star. But since the Mayweather-Pacquiao debacle, people are balking at shelling out money to watch a fight on pay per view. Pacquiao?s April 9 win over Timothy Bradley did less than 500,000 buys. Canelo Alvarez?s sensational knockout of Amir Khan last Saturday sold only 450,000.
?This is a very competitive fight,? Arum said, defending the decision to go to PPV. ?Nobody gave Khan a chance against Canelo, so why buy the fight? Now, if Canelo fights Triple-G (Gennady Golovkin), that?s a different story. People are going to want to see that fight.
?We think we have a very good fight to sell with Terence and Postol. We have a good undercard planned. We?re only charging $50. So I?m optimistic we can do a good number.?
WILDER FIGHT IN JEOPARDY
Deontay Wilder?s WBC heavyweight title defense scheduled for next Saturday in Moscow against Russian heavyweight contender Alexander Povetkin is in jeopardy after Povetkin tested positive for a banned substance.
The Voluntary Anti-Doping Association reported Friday that Povetkin tested positive for Meldonium, which is used to combat heart disease by increasing the size of the blood vessels and allowing more room for blood to flow through the body. The substance is on the World Anti-Doping Agency?s list of banned substances and the positive result came from a sample taken from Povetkin April 27.
The WBC issued a statement Friday, which read in part: ?The WBC is conducting an in-depth investigation of this matter and will make a public announcement in the very near future concerning the results of its investigation and any appropriate steps that it will take.?
VARGAS-BROOK UPDATE
Jessie Vargas? manager Cameron Dunkin said it?s not looking good for a welterweight unification title fight between Vargas, the WBO champ, and IBF champ Kell Brook.
?Jessie isn?t happy with the money,? Dunkin said Thursday. ?They?re offering him $1.61 million, which is three times what he got when he fought (Timothy) Bradley. I?ve told him it?s the best fight out there, but we?re running out of time to make a deal. I?m going to talk to Jessie again and see what we can do.?
