The year between the two bouts did nothing to spread the enthusiasm for the fight beyond the already-piqued fan base?
In the business world, just like in politics, any story can be spun to make a loss look like a win or vice versa.
Depending on who?s telling the story, the September 15 Saul ?Canelo? Alvarez-Gennady Golovkin pay-per-view rematch was either a success?generating more income, overall, than the first bout?or a failure?with around 200,000 fewer PPV buys and $4 million less at the live gate.
Multiple media sources are reporting that the Canelo-GGG middleweight title fight delivered around 1.1 million PPV buys and $23,473,500 from ticket sales at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Those numbers are down from the 1.3 million buys and $27,059,850 in ticket sales generated in their first encounter, September 16 of last year.
Lead promoter, Golden Boy, however, is not only denying the veracity of these sales figures (as they did with the first fight?s reported numbers), but also claiming that Canelo-GGG 2 was actually more successful than part one.
?We will not be releasing overall figures for the fight? Golden Boy said in an official statement, ?but between a terrific gate, a very successful linear PPV buy rate and an explosion in digital PPV sales, Canelo-Golovkin II was a more successful event than its predecessor.?
And, technically, they?re not lying.
At a bulked up PPV price of $84.95, it?s true that the 1.1 million sales this time brought in more money than the 1.3 million sales last time. Golden Boy is also crowing about a 25% increase in digital sales over last year?s event?a number that sounds impressive, until one takes into account that the 25% increase actually amounts to just about 8,000 added online purchases.
It?s tough to accept success as defined by fewer people paying more money for the show and with fewer fans buying tickets in Vegas at an overall lower price.
Less-than-stellar sales figures are really not all that surprising. After a first fight that ended in a controversial draw, the proposed initial run at a rematch in May was scratched due to Alvarez testing positive for the banned substance clenbuterol. Then, practically the entire lead-in to the re-booked rematch was buried in negativity with Alvarez sulking and Team Golovkin poking huge holes in the legitimacy of the upcoming bout by railing on and on about everything from Alvarez?s clean fighter status to the legality of his hand wraps to the likelihood of Golovkin not getting a fair score from the judges.
The promotion was buried in reasons why the main event would not be on the level and there was shockingly little talk about the fight, itself. A pairing that proved to be a favorable and compelling match of styles was all but ignored in favor of whining, griping, and the harboring of conspiracy theories.
For an event that would lean heavily on the support of smart ?hardcore? fans rather than spectacle-hungry casual fans, the negativity was a turn off.
At the end of the day and after negative and positive spins on the actual numbers, the truth is that Canelo-GGG 2 and Canelo-GGG 1 did just about the same in terms of business. Those who were interested the first time around pretty much came along for part two. The year between the two bouts did nothing to spread the enthusiasm for the fight beyond the already-piqued fan base. This is definitely not a positive for the promoters, who could?ve and should?ve built a return bout into a monster event.
Everyone, of course, made their money and anything above one million buys, especially in this day and age, is good. But this was one bout that should?ve been able to really drive fan interest and showcase the sport to the masses.
Instead, boxing simply gave a moderate cash grab to fighters and organizers and a pretty entertaining clash that, for the most part, only reached those already hooked on the sport.
It?s hard to put a positive spin on that missed potential.
