In the days leading up to the much-anticipated boxing match last April between Gervonta Davis and Ryan Garcia, fighter turned promoter Oscar De La Hoya declared the showdown: “The Fight to Save Boxing.”
If a matchup between two young undefeated fighters didn’t attract eyeballs, it would indicate the public has soured on the sweet science. The result was a better-than-expected 1.2 million buys generating more than $100 million in revenue, making it an overwhelming success.
Is boxing saved? Perhaps a better indication will come from how well Saturday’s undisputed welterweight championship between Errol Spence Jr. and Terence “Bud” Crawford performs.
Davis-Garcia was influenced by their respective social media platforms and 16 million combined followers on Instagram. It was boxing’s version of a daily all-access series. They talked trash. They entertained, and ultimately they sold pay-per-view buys. Spence and Crawford combine for 2 million followers on Instagram. Did Davis-Garcia save boxing or was it a social media phenomenon that will be difficult to repeat?
“I look at Davis-Garcia as the first fight that we’ve had in the social media era where the two boxers had a massive social media following before they met in the ring,” Mark Boccardi, senior vice president of programming and marketing for iNDEMAND & PPV.Com, said. “They were able to use that massive social media following to generate interest in the fight. Spence and Crawford don’t really use social media as much. They’re really not outgoing guys.”
Social media has been the springboard for the current wave of non-traditional pay-per-view combat events that feature YouTube creators Logan and Jake Paul and celebrity or crossover matches. Jake Paul and UFC star Nate Diaz will fight Aug. 5 at American Airlines Center in Dallas, and Tyson Fury, the WBC heavyweight champion, recently agreed to take on former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou in a boxing exhibition in October. Ngannou has never boxed professionally.
Errol Spence Jr.-Terence Crawford’s fight to reclaim traditional boxing
Can Errol Spence Jr.-Terence Crawford, two unbeaten champions in their prime fighting for the undisputed welterweight title, reclaim the popularity of traditional boxing? Can it even equal or surpass Davis-Garcia numbers without a strong social media following?
“That’s the magic question,” Tim Smith, a spokesman for Premier Boxing Champions, said. “When you have guys engaged with social media it brings along a different fan base and a different audience. But can you engage a Tank Davis fan or a Ryan Garcia fan in another promotion or are they just stand-alone guys? I think this fight is straddling the fence on that.”
PPV.Com is live streaming the bout from T-Mobile Arena for $84.99 and promoters are hoping Spence-Crawford will benefit from the quality of the matchup. Crawford (39-0 with 30 KOs) of Omaha, Nebraska, is the WBO champion, while Spence (28-0, 22 KOs) of Dallas holds the WBA, IBF, and WBC belts. Many consider this the best welterweight showdown since the Sugar Ray Leonard, Tommy Hearns era.
“What’s going to make this fight is what could happen in the ring,” Boccardi said. “If you look at the quality of this fight, most observers look at it as a legacy-defining fight for both fighters. A pure boxing fan will see it as a historic fight, the first bout for all four major welterweight belts. People have been talking about this fight for several years. I think it will draw a massive audience.”
Pay-per-view hasn’t had a megastar since Floyd Mayweather. From 2007 to 2017, Mayweather was involved in the top four highest-grossing fights in boxing pay-per-view history. It’s topped by the 4.6 million buys for his May 2, 2015, win over Manny Pacquiao. The fight earned $410 million in revenue. Davis-Garcia generated $102.4 million in revenue, which ranks sixth all-time.
“If you get the best fighting the best that’s what boxing needs,” said former world champion and long-time trainer Buddy McGirt. “We don’t need Youtubers (messing) up the game. It’s about time we’ve got the best stepping up against the best.”
A competitive memorable fight between Errol Spence Jr. and Terence Crawford will build on Davis-Garcia and create momentum for the next mega-boxing match: Canelo Alvarez defending his undisputed super middleweight titles against Jermell Charlo on Sept. 30 in Las Vegas. It’s the first of a three-fight deal Alvarez signed with PBC.
“People still gravitate toward the genuine article,” Smith said. “The sweet science is always going to be the sweet science. So when you have a purity in the matchup of a skilled boxer against another skilled boxer it’s always going to rise to the top of everything that’s out there.”
George Willis is a columnist for Sportsnaut. Follow him on Twitter.