They estimate the number is 1.4 million buys.. they're tallying them up..
Hardly suprising when you consider Rooney is Hatton's mate, the press tour clips and weigh-in clips were on regular news ( not just sports news), that Hatton was on Parkinson in the lead-up to fight and that he was rarely out of any of the papers at all for 6 months..
Wouldnt be suprised if the number becomes bigger than that because in the 3 or 4 days before the fight it seemed every one was talking about 'the fight'.. i couldn't believe it.. people who had never mentioned boxing before and just regular people in the street, they'd probably never seen Hatton or May fight before but what the hell..
Sky predict 1.4m PPV buys for Hatton-May..
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Greg Nicholas
- Heavyweight
- Posts: 516
- Joined: 22 Oct 2005, 19:21
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Greg Nicholas
- Heavyweight
- Posts: 516
- Joined: 22 Oct 2005, 19:21
It's 100% about media coverage.. if Hatton had half the media coverage not many casual fans would watch his fights because his fighting style is pretty horrible.. and if Frank Bruno had no post-fight interviews he wouldnt have had half the viewers.. but if Eubank had no media coverage i still think the 15 million would have tuned in to see him strut down that aisle, prowl that apron, clear those ropes and pose his way to another humurously (or for fight fans and 'men in the street'- infuriatingly) arrogant win..
Phenomenal.
When the fight was announced, I expected around 120,000 Sky Box Office buys.
THIS was what it is all about, though. The blokes in the pub would be glued to Sky Sports News every day for months like little six-year-olds. The 24/7 programme was brilliant. I went to get my hair cut on the Saturday morning, and the guy there, Mark, hadn't spoke to me about boxing since just before Bruno-Tyson II and just after Naz-Barrera. The first thing he said as I walked in was "You watching the fight?!". I first went there on Grand National Day 1995, I didn't have Sky at the time and I remember him telling me the next time I had my haircut about Naz dancing for two minutes before coming out for his latest fight (his first fight on Sky). He used to tell me about Naz's fights until I got Sky in early '96. Anyway, I said "Bloody hell, mate, where did that come from?".
Boxing is alive again and I'm somewhat glad Hatton is having another block of five fights, not that it's particularly good for the game in a traditional sense. I see maybe Kevin Mitchell as a potential Naz-Hatton of the future.
I do expect A LOT of buys were on the Saturday itself! Hatton was on the front and back page of every newspaper.
When the fight was announced, I expected around 120,000 Sky Box Office buys.
THIS was what it is all about, though. The blokes in the pub would be glued to Sky Sports News every day for months like little six-year-olds. The 24/7 programme was brilliant. I went to get my hair cut on the Saturday morning, and the guy there, Mark, hadn't spoke to me about boxing since just before Bruno-Tyson II and just after Naz-Barrera. The first thing he said as I walked in was "You watching the fight?!". I first went there on Grand National Day 1995, I didn't have Sky at the time and I remember him telling me the next time I had my haircut about Naz dancing for two minutes before coming out for his latest fight (his first fight on Sky). He used to tell me about Naz's fights until I got Sky in early '96. Anyway, I said "Bloody hell, mate, where did that come from?".
Boxing is alive again and I'm somewhat glad Hatton is having another block of five fights, not that it's particularly good for the game in a traditional sense. I see maybe Kevin Mitchell as a potential Naz-Hatton of the future.
I do expect A LOT of buys were on the Saturday itself! Hatton was on the front and back page of every newspaper.
Last edited by STP on 20 Dec 2007, 06:18, edited 4 times in total.
Most tuned in to see Eubank lose, not win ;)Greg Nicholas wrote:It's 100% about media coverage.. if Hatton had half the media coverage not many casual fans would watch his fights because his fighting style is pretty horrible.. and if Frank Bruno had no post-fight interviews he wouldnt have had half the viewers.. but if Eubank had no media coverage i still think the 15 million would have tuned in to see him strut down that aisle, prowl that apron, clear those ropes and pose his way to another humurously (or for fight fans and 'men in the street'- infuriatingly) arrogant win..
As far as I'm concerned, Eubank was bad for the game. He made a mockery of boxing.
Re: Sky predict 1.4m PPV buys for Hatton-May..
I don't think it's good for the game that the top fighters have now forgot about belts and are fighting once or twice a year on pay-for-view.verballistic wrote:big ups to you brits and welcome to the PPV generation!!Greg Nicholas wrote:They estimate the number is 1.4 million buys.. they're tallying them up..
Hardly suprising when you consider Rooney is Hatton's mate, the press tour clips and weigh-in clips were on regular news ( not just sports news), that Hatton was on Parkinson in the lead-up to fight and that he was rarely out of any of the papers at all for 6 months..
Wouldnt be suprised if the number becomes bigger than that because in the 3 or 4 days before the fight it seemed every one was talking about 'the fight'.. i couldn't believe it.. people who had never mentioned boxing before and just regular people in the street, they'd probably never seen Hatton or May fight before but what the hell..
no country besides the USA has ever purchased over 1 million PPVs in boxing history!! for that matter, no other country besides US and UK has ever purchased over HALF A MILLION PPVs!!
of course the downside is that more big fights will be telecast in britain ONLY on PPV now that SKY knows the lucrative market is there!! :(
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.j ... oxi120.xml
nobody has even mentioned it yet, but the UK tallies will push the worldwide PPV figures past the 2 million mark---MAKING MAYWEATHER-HATTON THE 2ND BIGGEST-SELLING PPV EVER, SURPASSED ONLY BY OSCAR-FLOYD TALLY OF 2.4 MILLION BUYS!!
If IBO champion Hatton fights WBC world champion Witter, for example, Hatton will be taking 90% of the purse. Boxing needs some order, because it's getting out of order and Hatton and Mayweather are at the forefront of that.
You have to respect someone like Junior Witter for going the proper route - British, Commonwealth, European, WBC #1. He may end up leaving with a better boxing legacy than Hatton.
I don't expect Hatton to fight Witter, because as you rightly say Witter is not known by Americans. Malignaggi at MSG is obviously the one. But you have to have respect for Witter for going the historical, proper route to achieve his dream and dedicating himself to his sport. And if Witter keeps winning, people will simply have to sit up and take notice.
Last edited by STP on 20 Dec 2007, 06:22, edited 2 times in total.
Re: Sky predict 1.4m PPV buys for Hatton-May..
good that boxing has come to a wider audience. but it means that we'll have to pay-per-view hatton even when he's badly on the slide.verballistic wrote:big ups to you brits and welcome to the PPV generation!!Greg Nicholas wrote:They estimate the number is 1.4 million buys.. they're tallying them up..
Hardly suprising when you consider Rooney is Hatton's mate, the press tour clips and weigh-in clips were on regular news ( not just sports news), that Hatton was on Parkinson in the lead-up to fight and that he was rarely out of any of the papers at all for 6 months..
Wouldnt be suprised if the number becomes bigger than that because in the 3 or 4 days before the fight it seemed every one was talking about 'the fight'.. i couldn't believe it.. people who had never mentioned boxing before and just regular people in the street, they'd probably never seen Hatton or May fight before but what the hell..
no country besides the USA has ever purchased over 1 million PPVs in boxing history!! for that matter, no other country besides US and UK has ever purchased over HALF A MILLION PPVs!!
of course the downside is that more big fights will be telecast in britain ONLY on PPV now that SKY knows the lucrative market is there!! :(
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.j ... oxi120.xml
nobody has even mentioned it yet, but the UK tallies will push the worldwide PPV figures past the 2 million mark---MAKING MAYWEATHER-HATTON THE 2ND BIGGEST-SELLING PPV EVER, SURPASSED ONLY BY OSCAR-FLOYD TALLY OF 2.4 MILLION BUYS!!
Witter simply is not an attraction, his style rubs ppl up the wrong way, but he's always remained dedicated and tried to make the fights that matter. If Hatton is fighting again in the UK, it's crazy not to have it vs Witter. Remember, they have to make it tasty for the British viewers, because the promoters would probably want them to fill up a football stadium. If it's hyped on the grudge match angle, and with Hatton's pre fight comedy act, it would be big. 2 British world champs IS a big fight, part of the market is clearly the UK, and HBO have approved far worst Hatton bouts.
I wouldn't be surprised if Hatton becomes a shot fighter after perhaps horrible spectacles like Malignaggi and horrible weight mismatches like DLH, and comes crawling to Witter to make 1 last big fight. Witter will still be around, probably managing to beat a top 10 light welter per year, he'll stil be fit and he'll get Hatton who sadly has ducked him from day 1.
If Brits are buying over a million PPVs, that's a market that cannot be ignored. Hatton says he wants to give something back to the UK fans. Hopefully he gives the Brits, who have been PPV'ing the last 2 1/2 years, the right fight.