Via Dan Ambrose: Bob Arum predicts that Terence Crawford and Josh Taylor will bring in 1.5 million pay-per-view purchases by 2022. Arum believes Crawford-Taylor is a more lucrative fight than Crawford and Errol Spence Jr. by the UK market.
Arum says the bout between WBO weight champion Crawford (38-0.29 KOs) and undisputed 140-lb champion Taylor (18-0, 13 KOs) will be sold on PPV not only in the UK but still in the United States.
It’s hard to imagine American boxing fans willing to buy a match between Crawford, 34, and Scottish boxer Taylor on PPV in the US, as the others may not be as familiar with Josh.
We still don’t know if Crawford’s game against Shawn Porter last Saturday night was a success or a failure on ESPN+ PPV. There isn’t a huge amount of buzz from the boxing public going into the Crawford vs. Porter this week.
Crawford-Taylor: Is This a Market PPV War in the US?
There’s nothing wrong with Crawford taking on Taylor next, as Top Rated didn’t expect it to bring in a huge amount of PPV buying from US fans. It could be a big mistake to sell the pay-per-view fight in the US, as Taylor is not a household name.
Trying to Sell Crawford vs. Taylor on PPV in the US could be worse than Canelo Alvarez taking on little-known WBC heavyweight champion Ilunga Makabu on PPV.
In Canelo’s case, he’s popular enough to bring in ANY Rally fight trades, so he can get away with bringing in a low-documented champion like Makabu to sell to the agency. His huge fan base.
Crawford isn’t in the same enviable position, so it might be an odd idea to sell a fight between him and Taylor on PPV in the US.
Arum continues to offer matches against Crawford
“It was just a great fight; Two great warriors went into it. Terence is the better guy tonight and he knows how to end a game,” Bob Arum told iFL TV of Crawford’s win over Shawn Porter.
“Yes, that’s true, there’s no current contract, but we do have a relationship, and we’ll give him the best fight we can,” Arum said of his intention to continue working. with Crawford even though his contract with Top Rank has expired. with the Porter war.
“As far as Terence knows, there are really two people out there who will complete his legacy. One is [Errol] Spence, and the other is [Josh] Taylor,“Arum continued.
If you’re Arum, you might want to try making a deal between Crawford and Josh Taylor or Errol Spence Jr. as soon as possible. If Arum waited too long, one of the advertising agencies would sign Crawford, making him untouchable.
“The PBC gave him a ticket, that’s what it means,” Arum told Fighthype when asked does that mean Spence showed up on the field to watch Crawford vs. Porter last Saturday.
Crawford and Josh Taylor can buy 1.5 million PPV
“How do I know if it will encourage him or discourage him. You have to ask him,” Arum said in an angry voice when asked if Spence might have been frustrated after watching Crawford stop Porter.
“Errol Spence is a good fighter and a brave young man. Whether he wants to fight Terence or not, it’s up to him and Al [Haymon]. I’ll definitely talk to Al about putting them together.
“The fight I want to see is Terence and Josh Taylor. The two boxers are undisputed in their weight classes. It seems to me that there is no one left in Omaha. Omaha is here [to watch Crawford fight Porter in Las Vegas].
“I think more than that for the UK,” Arum said when asked if Crawford vs. Taylor is a more lucrative fight than Crawford-Spence. “Taylor is huge in England, and so is Crawford.
“We can make 70,000 seats, and maybe million or one and a half million pay per view and put it in an hour that we can still pay per view in the US.
“So I think the most lucrative fight for Terence will be Josh Taylor,” Arum said.
There is no doubt that Crawford vs. Taylor will sell in the UK on pay-per-view, but forget it’s sold in the US.
It doesn’t matter that Taylor holds four titles at the age of 140, and he’s still not a household name in the United States.
Arum had to choose someone that American boxing fans were familiar with and could do the heavy lifting because Crawford didn’t have the traction to sell if he was forced to talk.
PPV worthy opponent for Crawford:
- Errol Spence Jr
- Jermell Charlo
- Gennadiy Golovkin
- Keith Thurman
- Danny Garcia
- Gervonta Davis
- Teofimo Lopez
- Jaron Ennis
- Vergil Ortiz Jr.
Arum has a one-fight contract with Hearn & Leonard
“Look, Tommy Hearns is in the ring. I never had a contract with Hearns Arum said when asked to work with Crawford when his contract with Top Rated had expired.
“I never had a contract with [Sugar Ray] Leonard for more than one fight. [Marvin] Hagler can fight the two, but never a long-term contract. We have never had a long-term contract. If someone came and offered Terence a deal for a larger amount, he would be a fool not to take it.
“But we think we can make the best fight for him. It has nothing to do with personality or anything. We know when we start a fight the fighters are treated well, they take care, but other people can do it too.
Arum said of Crawford: “So again, Terence would, if he were smart, which I believe he is, would look at all the offers and see which path is best to go. go,” Arum said.
It sounds promising that Arum will continue to work with Crawford, but there’s always the possibility that PBC or Matchroom Boxing could sign him to a lucrative deal soon.
His age and poor pay-per-view record could stand up against those companies signing contract renewals with Crawford.
Would those companies be willing to pay Crawford a hefty sum, given his past efforts at PPV.
Crawford is 34 years old this year, and he may only have a few battles left before he is defeated. It’s not a good sign that a boxer as washed as Porter can take Crawford to a virtual stalemate in the first nine rounds of the fight.
If Crawford meets one of the younger contenders like Jaron Ennis or Vergil Ortiz Jr, he could be dethroned in an instant, and that would be bad news for any company that signs him.
Shawn Porter looks wobbly
“Obviously, I had him [Crawford] up, and I didn’t have it nearly as two of the judges had. I had Terence up three points, but, of course, it’s all moot now.
“Yes, guy [Porter] Arum said as he gave his thoughts on how Shawn’s father/coach Kenny Porter pulled him out of the fight after his second knockdown in the tenth round.
“I mean, I didn’t realize his angle was called it. I think the referee called it, but you see after getting up he went unsteadily the second time,” Arum said on Porter, looking bad after his second knockdown in the tenth round.
Coach Kenny Porter decided to stop the bout after his second knockdown in the 10th round as Crawford would have finished him off if the bout was allowed to continue.
Without going into details, Kenny said he was unhappy with Porter’s preparation for this bout, which led to the decision to stop the contest after he was knocked down for the second time in the tenth round.
