Turki Alalshikh may have blown his chances of charging fans $90 for PPV boxing after one of the most challenging weekends of his tenure.
The Saudi Arabian matchmaker put together what looked to be a standout Pay Per View bundle featuring Ryan Garcia, Devin Haney, Teofimo Lopez, and Canelo Alvarez.
Scheduled for May 2 and May 3 from New York to Saudi Arabia, Alalshikh announced pricing of $59.99 each or $90 for the two combined.
Eyebrows were instantly raised, as Alalshikh had stated months before that he wanted to charge only $20 worldwide for PPV when speaking to talkSPORT.
He said in September, “You mention the PPV, I think this is my next big fight and I want your advice also,” to the Jordan and White Show.
Alalshikh added, “I dream of a PPV with a good price that will make the fans happy, get them to subscribe, and get them to watch it legally.
“Usually, when I see a high PPV, a lot of people go and watch the fight illegally. This is not healthy for boxing and the platform.
“What I will try to push is to have our Riyadh Season shows at less than £20 in England and less than $20 worldwide.
“I would prefer to have one million fans subscribe and buy the PPV for £20 than less than 500,000 (for £40).
“The people go around it illegally because the price is high. In the future, this will not build boxing.
“If I give the fans good fights at a good price, then I will increase the fanbase.”
In hindsight, those words may have been Alalshikh’s bid to sell the Bivol vs. Beterbiev event. The fight between the two best light heavyweights was offered at a cut-price of $15.
However, only six months later, the realization that another PPV u-turn was being made hit the fans and media hard.
It was another promise broken in the same ilk as when DAZN said it would abolish Pay Per View when launching its streaming service in 2018.
Alalshikh’s next move will be under massive scrutiny, with fans questioning the budding filmmaker’s motives.
Last weekend, the Times Square and Canelo double proved to be a complete flop. On Friday, welterweights Garcia and Haney’s fights with Rolly Romero and Jose Ramirez entered an unwanted CompuBox list.
Only WBO super lightweight champion Lopez’s defense against Arnold Barboza Jr. on the undercard survived ridicule as the Garcia and Haney bouts landed in the top five for the fewest punches thrown in a twelve-round fight.
As the reaction to the New York event reached a crescendo, Canelo’s main event encounter with William Scull on Saturday unfathomably overtook the other two on the list.
The Guadalajara, Mexico favorite gazumped the boxing schedule as he added Sculls IBF super middleweight belt to his WBA, WBO, and WBC versions.
It took Tokyo’s finest knockout fighter, Naoya Inoue, fighting on a Top Rank card on Sunday in Las Vegas, to save the weekend and emerge a winner. Inoue stopped Ramon Cardenas in eight rounds of an exciting battle at the T-Mobile Arena.
On Monday, Oscar De La Hoya compounded Turki’s misery with an ’emergency Clapback’.
However, the General Entertainment Authority figurehead faces significant pushback ahead of Canelo vs Crawford, an event for which Alalshikh will undoubtedly want to charge more than $59.99.
It’s a timely reminder to PBC on Prime Video, ESPN, and Netflix, who will scrutinize the DAZN PPV announcement calendar to determine gaps in the market.
Canelo’s four-fight deal with Riyadh Season is the jewel in the crown, and it may be why Alalshikh had to back down on his PPV promise.
The Pound for Pound star has lined up Crawford (in the United States), Chris Eubank Jr. (Wembley Stadium in the UK), and a potential Dmitry Bivol rematch (Riyadh Season) as part of his contract. All three would likely be over $50 to purchase in some territories.
Alalshikh also has Oleksandr Usyk vs Daniel Dubois penciled in for PPV this summer.
Jake Paul’s fight with Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. could be the yardstick by which Alalshikh measures his September contest at Allegiant Stadium. However, rumors are rife that Paul vs Chavez Jr. could land free-to-air on Netflix.
As the boxer and promoter has a deal for Katie Taylor vs Amanda Serrano III on the platform, he may be able to persuade them to broadcast the Chavez event.
Therefore, thrashing out a deal with Netflix or putting the fight on combat sports network UFC Fight Pass as part of a subscription package may save Canelo vs Crawford from another PPV increase.
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Read all articles and exclusive interviews by Phil Jay and learn more about the author, an experienced boxing writer and World Boxing News Editor since 2010.
