Deontay Wilder-Tyson Fury II is less than three weeks away and the biggest question isn’t about fight strategy. It’s about the lack of hype and excitement for the rematch.
It makes no sense. The first fight provided a lot of signature moments. Fury spent the first part of the fight giving Wilder a boxing lesson. But Wilder would come back and floor Fury in the 9th and 12th rounds. In fact, most are still wondering how in the world Fury got up from the 12th round knock down.
Part of the reason might be the pay-per-view concept. The rematch will cost consumers $79.99. With the popularity of subscription-based streaming services, paying a bulk price for one event is becoming more and more frowned upon.
It puts both PBC (Premier Boxing Champions) and Top Rank in a bit of a pickle. PBC uses a combination of pay-per-view, Showtime, Fox, and both Showtime and Fox pay-per-view to put out it’s product. Top Rank uses ESPN, ESPN+, and ESPN pay-per-view for theirs.
DAZN has put a monkey-wrench in consumer expectations. By using the subscription model to showcase both Golden Boy and Matchroom fighters, there’s no doubt that they’ve not only have they captured an ever growing base of consumers but they’ve also changed what consumer expectations are.
Also the fighters themselves haven’t been as loud and brash. Neither have been in front of the national media enough to remind consumers of why they should buy this fight. It’s confusing why PBC and Top Rank hasn’t done more especially when you consider that Fox had the Super Bowl and that’s the pay-per-view vehicle PBC is using. Why wasn’t there a promotion blitz during the most watched program in the country?
Maybe the strategy is to wait late in the game and make a final push. It might work considering the NFL is over and the NBA will be just coming off it’s All-Star break. At this point, it’s the only thing that makes sense.
Not only is Wilder-Fury 2 a win for fans in the ring but it’s also a win outside of the ring. PBC and Top Rank has been able to come to a cooperative deal with two A-Side fighters. That’s not easy to do in today’s market. There’s still a question if it can happen with DAZN since there is no pay-per-view option. Plus, DAZN strategy has been to negotiate deals directly with the fighter than can range from a one fight deal to a multi-fight deal.
There’s still a question of how many pay-per-view buys is needed to call this fight a success. I’ve seen anything from 750,000 to a million buys needed to call the fight promotion a success. I have my doubts that this fight reaches that number. In fact, I would say anything over 600,000 buys would be a success. The first fight did in the neighborhood of 320,000 buys.
No matter the final number, fans should be in for a treat. Wilder and Fury did a great job working together so fans didn’t have to wait years for the rematch. The fight in the ring will far exceed the lack of hype out of it.
