His Excellency Turki Alalshikh has revealed that he plans to reduce PPV costs for his Riyadh season events to a manageable number, which will help increase interest in boxing.
In the UK, Turki wants to drop the PPV cost to £20 and $20 worldwide. This move by Turki will begin with next month’s clash between light heavyweight champions Artur Beterbiev and Dmitri Bivol on October 12. The event will retail for £15 in the UK. In the US, that fight is already being shown for free to subscribers on ESPN+.
What is unclear is whether the PPV cost will be reduced for the Shakur Stevenson vs. Joe Cordina undercard fights, which were cut from the Beterbiev-Bivol main event for the Oct. 12 card in Riyadh and will be sold on DAZN pay-per-view. .
It would look bad if Shakur’s set-up battle against bottom-rung rival Cordina was sold for $70+ on PPV. Promoter Eddie Hearn did a number on Shakur by selecting Cordina for PPV rather than feeding the runner to the wolves by matching him against Abdullah Mason, Raymond Muratalla or William Zepeda.
American fans are upset about the undercard being cut from the main event and put on PPV. While British fans love the undercard fights, Americans see top-down, low-level fights, including the train wreck clash between boring, defensive Shakur Stevenson and Joe Cordina, a fighter coming off a knockout last May.
Hardcore boxing fans see this fight as a cunning ploy to artificially increase Shakur’s popularity to increase interest in seeing him fight Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis in 2025. Shakur’s stock has dropped in his last two fights, and American fans don’t want to watch his dull Mayweather-esque retro level fights.
Expand the fanbase
“People (watch) illegally because the price is high. This is in the future and will not build box. If I give good fights with a good price, I will increase the fan base,” His Excellency Turki Alalshikh told the talk sport Boxing YouTube channel.
It will be great for fans watching the Riyadh season events. However, this is unlikely to change the cost structure for other boxing events put on by the major promoters in the US, who will likely continue to sell their cards for $70 to $90. It’s impossible to grow the sport with the high PPV costs and virtually all the interesting fights stuck behind a paywall.
Shakur-Cordina undercard for DAZN PPV
– Chris Eubank Jr. vs. Kamil Szeremeta
– Fabio Wardley vs Frazer Clarke
– Jai Opetaia vs. Jack Massey
– Ben Whittaker vs Liam Cameron
– Skye Nicholson vs. Raven Chapman
– Mohammad Alamel vs. Jesus Gonzalez
These are domestic level fights, and American boxing fans don’t want to see any of those low-level matches, nor the horrible main event between Shakur and Cordina.
