IT HAS confirmed a few days ago that this weekend’s fight between YouTubers KSI and FaZe Temperrr will cost £11.99 on DAZN PPV. Fans in the US will have to pay $39.99 for the show. What a great start to 2023. KSI was originally scheduled to fight mixed martial artist Dillon Danis – famous for his peripheral connection to Conor McGregor – on Saturday, but Danis recently withdrew. for undisclosed reasons. Mr. Temperrr took his place, who appeared to be still learning how to use the keyboard.
It’s a shame. We entered this year knowing that the PPV market was a mess, but now it seems to be backed by influencers rather than real boxers. BT Sport has come under a lot of criticism for Tyson Fury’s trio with Dereck Chisora that took place on PPV late last year, but that’s not as pessimistic as this KSI antics.
This is not a complaint on behalf of the consumer. It is easy to point Not take a look at this PPV and if you choose to pay for it you are either a teen charging a parent’s credit card or someone in dire need of intervention.
No, this is a plea to protect boxing’s rapidly declining reputation. The precedent of influential boxing is no longer in the making – it has been tinged with. Almost every major broadcaster is involved with it, although none is as committed as DAZN.
On the streaming service, KSI stands alongside the likes of Canelo Alvarez and Anthony Joshua as current steady performers on PPV. The British tennis player deserves credit for developing his profile to what it is today, but he is not in PPV boxing. He’s just there for the profound flaws in the sport.
To a much lesser extent, Sky Sports has also received criticism for announcing a £19.99 price tag tied to Chris Eubank Jnr’s upcoming match against Liam Smith. Of course, Eubank was originally set to fight Conor Benn on the DAZN PPV before that fight was called off at the last minute. Instead, he will now face Smith on the Sky Sports Box Office.
It’s an exciting battle that could make a stellar title for a regular Fight Night card, but it’s hard to justify its PPV status, especially at £20 a one-off. In this case, this is more of a problem for consumers. Eubank Jnr-Smith is going to be a lot of fun and there will be plenty of boxing fans wanting to see it unfold. But in this economic climate, especially in January, £20 is a big ask.
So the state of boxing broadcasting isn’t off to the best of start in 2023. The rise in PPV prices is not surprising given that the price of almost everything on the planet has risen sharply in the past year, but that doesn’t do it. make it easier to swallow.
Speaking to the DAZN Boxing Show, promoter Eddie Hearn announced that Benn – who is currently under investigation after two failed drug tests last year – will “come back in early 2023 or mid-2023.”
He continued: “[Benn] sent all the evidence to remove his name and now we are waiting for VADA and WBC to make their decision. We want that decision as soon as possible. But the truth is that Conor Benn can fight, not anywhere in the world, but in most parts of the world right now. He’s not banned by anyone.”
Hearn also said that they wanted to conduct a “hearing” to clarify Benn’s name. It is unclear who that hearing will take place with. Benn gave up his British Boxing Control Commission license last year on the morning of a scheduled misconduct hearing, which he later failed to attend.
Benn has been much more active on social media in the past few weeks, actively urging organizations like the WBC to speed up the investigation and release the decision. There seems to be a lot of confidence from Camp Benn. When the news initially broke, Hearn was much more reserved in his comments about failed tests and sometimes seemed to distance himself from the matter.
Now, he seems convinced that Benn can prove his innocence, which suggests that there have been significant behind-the-scenes developments. We may see a solution – for better or for worse – to this problem in the very near future.
Hearn even went on to match Benn, calling the match against Eubank Jnr “one of the biggest boxers right now” and also pitching the idea for Conor to take on Gervonta Davis. At this point, with no confirmation of Benn’s innocence or guilt, it’s strange to see such fights being discussed so enthusiastically. Especially the one with Davis, who is currently active at lightweight – two places behind Benn – and established at world level.
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Mikaela Mayer, one of the most prominent female boxers active in boxing today, called for 3-minute, 12-round matches to win the women’s championship in an interview with BBC Sport.
“When you don’t allow women to do a three-minute set, you’re holding back evolution,” she said. And she is in place. There is no scientific or logical reason for women to hit fewer rounds and shorter than men and with names like Mayer calling for change, hopefully the sport can break out of the Stone Age.
It looks like we could be one step closer to having Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk fight this year as promoter Frank Warren told talkSPORT that a draft contract has been sent to Ukraine’s team. If that’s true, we can all start to be a little more optimistic about 2023.
Mikaela Mayer (Harry How/Getty Images)
Boxing on the box
January 15
Efe Ajagba-Stephan Shaw
Sports action in the sky
Coverage starts at 2am
