Frank Waarren: Joshua-Pulev, Many Other Fights Aren't PPV Worthy

[Ruthless-RKO]

allegedly understands as well as anyone that if a promoter thinks boxing fans should pay extra to watch a fight, he can assume the financial risk and make it a pay-per-view event.

The veteran British promoter still thinks there has been a saturation of pay-per-view events in his market. Warren doesn’t consider Anthony Joshua-Kubrat Pulev a fight worthy of the pay-per-view platform.

Sky Sports Box Office, the British television rival of Warren’s allegedly, will broadcast Joshua-Pulev as the main event of a pay-per-view show October 28 from Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales. England’s Joshua (19-0, 19 KOs) will make a mandatory defense of his IBF heavyweight title against Bulgaria’s Pulev (25-1, 13 KOs) in a fight Showtime will televise in the United States.

“I don’t think so,” Warren told iFL TV during an interview posted Monday when asked if he thinks Joshua-Pulev belongs on pay-per-view. “But then you would say I would say that. But I don’t think so. But they’ll get away with it. Do you think it’s pay-per-view? I don’t think it is. But they’ll get away with it.”

Warren, who has been criticized at times for promoting too many pay-per-view shows, feels the same way about the Joseph Parker-Hughie Fury fight. That bout, which Parker won by majority decision to retain his WBO heavyweight title September 23 in Manchester, was televised via YouTube for £14.99.

“It wasn’t pay-per-view,” Warren said. “Peter Fury’s a good friend and we promote Hughie. But I didn’t think it was pay-per-view. But then, I don’t know what the numbers are. I’ve got no idea what it’s done. And I think the other side of pay-per-view, when you’re doing these shows, is getting the exposure. And it’s whether Hughie got the exposure, or in other fights, because you wanna be seen. If you start limiting it to pay-per-view and say you do 100,000 buys or 150,000 buys, you’re not delivering the exposure to the boxers.”

Even though UK pay-per-views are cheaper than in the U.S., Warren wants fewer of them. He can’t understand why upcoming World Boxing Super Series bouts between IBO super middleweight champ Chris Eubank Jr. (25-1, 19 KOs) and Turkey’s Avni Yildirim (16-0, 10 KOs) – scheduled for Saturday in Stuttgart, Germany – and WBA super middleweight champ George Groves (26-3, 19 KOs) and Jamie Cox (24-0, 13 KOs) – set for October 14 in London – will headline pay-per-view cards in the United Kingdom.

“There are far too many,” Warren said. “And the public’s only got a certain amount of money to spend, so they’re gonna get fussy where they spend their money. And some of those fights are just not pay-per-view. That’s a fact of life. And everybody talks pay-per-view. I was talking about it earlier.

“I mean, you’ve gotta have some pay-per-view. Otherwise, you cannot put on the events that the fighters want. You cannot take them into the big time, where they should be, where they should be getting money. It goes without saying, the fight between Golovkin and Canelo was a pay-per-view fight. You can’t say it wasn’t a pay-per-view fight. It was. Those other fights you mentioned are not pay-per-view fights.”

[Horse]

Joshua vs Pulev is a PPV fight.

[Nightmare Roy]

He's right, way to many average fights are PPV, he's wrong about AJ though, all his fights will be PPV now, he's the biggest star in the sport

[gilgamesh]

Joshua vs Pulev is a PPV fight.

A sh*tty one that's robbing fans of their money.

PPV fights are supposed to be Competitive fights between 2 star fighters. Not showcase fights for a Superstar to smash an overmatched contender.

[Sklar]

You don't have to buy. If people buy and the show pays all participants and staff, it's PPV worthy.

[gilgamesh]

You don't have to buy. If people buy and the show pays all participants and staff, it's PPV worthy.

The staff doesn't deserve your money if they don't give you fights that are worth it.

[Sklar]

You don't have to buy. If people buy and the show pays all participants and staff, it's PPV worthy.

The staff doesn't deserve your money if they don't give you fights that are worth it.

If they get it, they deserve it. I don't buy PPV fights.

[Horse]

A sh*tty one that's robbing fans of their money.

It's not robbing fans of their money. They don't have to buy it.

It's not as if most boxing is free to watch normally.

PPV fights are supposed to be Competitive fights between 2 star fighters.

PPV fights are supposed to be fights that can make a load more money by making them PPV.

Where did all of that nonsense about both guys needing to be P4Pers come from?

Not showcase fights for a Superstar to smash an overmatched contender.

Pulev will be Joshua's 2nd best opponent and he is a top 5 contender.

If Joshua can't have a PPV against Pulev then he isn't going to be having many PPVs.

[gilgamesh]

Fine...you guys keep pissing your money away on fights that don't deserve your money if you want.

[Stuarty]

Fine...you guys keep pissing your money away on fights that don't deserve your money if you want.

I used to buy them all but last couple of years I've been more selective. I'm not buying any of the ITV ones unless it throws up a fight that I think is unmissable. I won't buy Bellew Haye the week before Xmas. I might buy the AJ fight as my two oldest boys like him and the Mrs will watch him as well without moaning (wonder why ).

[gilgamesh]

Fine...you guys keep pissing your money away on fights that don't deserve your money if you want.

I used to buy them all but last couple of years I've been more selective. I'm not buying any of the ITV ones unless it throws up a fight that I think is unmissable. I won't buy Bellew Haye the week before Xmas. I might buy the AJ fight as my two oldest boys like him and the Mrs will watch him as well without moaning (wonder why ).

The ladies love a humble man.......with the body of a Greek God

[TooMuch]

Just because someone says something is bad doesn't mean you can't sell it.

[magnus]

Frank's right - the AJ fight is no Amir Khan-Oisin Fagan.

(That was PPV right? Or am I dreaming).

[gilgamesh]

Just because someone says something is bad doesn't mean you can't sell it.

Mayweather vs McGregor showed us all that. We all said it was an absolute joke, and it broke the all time PPV record

[brian13]

It's hard to agree with him because his channel has been rumoured and / or been trying to bring in a ppv model themselves.

[maverick23]

Frank's right - the AJ fight is no Amir Khan-Oisin Fagan.

(That was PPV right? Or am I dreaming).

I can't remember if it was or not but Khan v Prescott most definitely was. The undercard had Alex Arthur vs Nicky Cook and then a load of one sided fights. How Warren can put that in PPV but then criticise the Joshua v Pulev fight is laughable.

Plus all of the one sided Naz PPV fights on PPV.

[boxingknockout]

Frank's right - the AJ fight is no Amir Khan-Oisin Fagan.

(That was PPV right? Or am I dreaming).

I can't remember if it was or not but Khan v Prescott most definitely was. The undercard had Alex Arthur vs Nicky Cook and then a load of one sided fights. How Warren can put that in PPV but then criticise the Joshua v Pulev fight is laughable.

Plus all of the one sided Naz PPV fights on PPV.

It was a PPV event! Horrible. Warren has really picked up his game, but when he was the dominant Sky promoter he served up so much rubbish; it was a horrible time.

[jamamb]

ajs fights are all ppv worthy. for casuals theyve become big events. talk uninformed nonsense about boxing to the mates, have them over for a fight night party. it makes it worthwhile to them. they love those types of nights. no, a fight like aj-pulev is not super competitively matched and probably wont deliver great two way action.

gotta wonder about some fights though. hughie-fury? do ppl care that much about eubank-avni even if his name is eubank?

[Deserter]

Fine...you guys keep pissing your money away on fights that don't deserve your money if you want.

Err, but Sklar pointed out he didn't buy them. It's a market forces thing, simple as that.

[maverick23]

Frank's right - the AJ fight is no Amir Khan-Oisin Fagan.

(That was PPV right? Or am I dreaming).

I can't remember if it was or not but Khan v Prescott most definitely was. The undercard had Alex Arthur vs Nicky Cook and then a load of one sided fights. How Warren can put that in PPV but then criticise the Joshua v Pulev fight is laughable.

Plus all of the one sided Naz PPV fights on PPV.

It was a PPV event! Horrible. Warren has really picked up his game, but when he was the dominant Sky promoter he served up so much rubbish; it was a horrible time.

The double standards of it winds me up.

I saw the IFL interview where Warren mentioned the point around Joshua v Pulev not being PPV - I wish Kugan had pushed him on it. Kugan's interviews are entertaining but I'd much prefer it if he challenged bother Warren and Hearn more.

[Nightmare Roy]

Fine...you guys keep pissing your money away on fights that don't deserve your money if you want.

I used to buy them all but last couple of years I've been more selective. I'm not buying any of the ITV ones unless it throws up a fight that I think is unmissable. I won't buy Bellew Haye the week before Xmas. I might buy the AJ fight as my two oldest boys like him and the Mrs will watch him as well without moaning (wonder why ).

The ladies love a humble man.......with the body of a Greek God

I think ladies like the idea of the humble pole, my Mrs is happy to watch his fights too.

[Loynesy]

Fine...you guys keep pissing your money away on fights that don't deserve your money if you want.

Err, but Sklar pointed out he didn't buy them. It's a market forces thing, simply as that.

Agree completely. "PPV Worthy" is a financial not sporting concept. Any promoter has a right to charge whatever he wants for someone to see a fight, albeit at the gate or in TV. As a consumer, I have a choice as to whether to buy it.

I strongly suspect it will do good enough numbers to justify completely the decision to charge to watch.

[KiwiRider]

I used to buy them all but last couple of years I've been more selective. I'm not buying any of the ITV ones unless it throws up a fight that I think is unmissable. I won't buy Bellew Haye the week before Xmas. I might buy the AJ fight as my two oldest boys like him and the Mrs will watch him as well without moaning (wonder why ).

The ladies love a humble man.......with the body of a Greek God

I think ladies like the idea of the humble pole, my Mrs is happy to watch his fights too.

Join the freakin' club..
"Oh I love AJ, let's get the PPV, it will be worth it" she says with the twinkle that I used to get..

[gilgamesh]

Ouch...you guys with the wife tales

[dirk2686]

Warren had Khan v Prescott, Khan v Salita and Audley Rogan on PPV. He's got some nerve saying the biggest name in the sport by a country mile in this country in his second biggest fight isn't PPV worthy.

He also stuck GGG Canelo on PPV on his own channel - fine - but didn't include the Saunders fight and bumped that down to SD so he could use the HD channel to essentially broadcast a six hour advert. Pathetic double standards from the man.