BLK Prime happy with Crawford PPV numbers, looking to make mark in 2023

[Ruthless-RKO]

BLK Prime happy with Crawford vs Avanesyan PPV numbers, looking to make mark in 2023

BLK Prime are looking to make an impact in boxing this year, but will it happen?

BLK Prime have big plans for their boxing brand in 2023, after jumping into the pool with their Dec. 10 Crawford vs Avanesyan PPV event.

Their second event will come on Saturday, Feb. 25, with Adrien Broner facing Ivan Redkach in a 10-round welterweight bout in Atlanta, and they believe it’s all just the beginning.

“The plan in 2023 is to make the most compelling fights in boxing,” said Chester Johnson, Vice President of BLK Prime Boxing. “The fans deserve to see the best fighting the best and we will do everything in our power to make that happen.”

Johnson also makes clear that BLK Prime does not intend to hoard talent and create another shop that closes ranks.

“We are open to working with everyone in the sport to bring back the glory days of boxing,” he said. “Our platform is extremely functional and delivers a high-quality stream. Our cable and satellite pay-per-view distribution agreements with our domestic and international partners are in place for 2023 as well.”

The company say that the Crawford vs Avanesyan event “exceeded expectations” for global PPV buys, without giving a specific number. Considering how low expectations were in the general public for buys, that doesn’t mean it was some smash hit, but if they had the same low to moderate expectations — as they should have — then sure, expectations could have been exceeded fairly easily and fairly handily.

“I’m very humbled by everything that’s transpired in our first pay-per-view event,” Johnson added. “Terence Crawford is an incredible fighter and proved he’s worthy to be showcased on the pay-per-view stage, as our buys did exceptionally well. Furthermore, we didn’t give away any outstanding complimentary tickets, so our gate did fantastically.

“2023 will be a big year for BLK Prime. We plan on implementing some innovative features to our shows that I believe will make our events more entertaining for the fans. I’m looking forward to kicking off the new year with an amazing event.”

Whether BLK Prime will be here to stay remains to be seen. Speaking honestly, a lot of entities have tried to crash the gate in the boxing world, and more fail than succeed. In these early days, their approach appears to be what DAZN tried early on, paying large purses to attract talent to a fledgling platform, but with PPV instead of a subscription model.

As far as presentation and all that goes, though, their first broadcast was very professional, plenty slick, everything was strong in that regard, so they appear to be serious.

We’ll see if it sticks and works out. Extra actual competition would not be bad for boxing, but then Crawford-Avanesyan and Broner-Redkach are also not exactly fights the boxing world has been clamoring to see.

So there’s a lot to consider. Basically, it’s probably fair to expect it will come down to how much money they have to burn before potentially truly catching on. DAZN have hung around; Triller, on the other hand, basically felt into irrelevance the minute Jake Paul took his wares to Showtime. This is not an easy business to crash.

[Ruthless-RKO]

I say good luck to them..

Hopefully they're more reliable than Triller.

If you don't wanna pay, then fair enough.

PPV price wasn't off the scales either.

The Broner deal might break them though.

[cpx2]

If the 120k is accurate, that's pretty decent considering people in the US only seemed to know Avanesyan from a win over a washed up Shawn Porter lord knows how many years ago. Gate seemed like it went well too.

As others have said though, the Broner deal doesn't look like good sense. I suppose they want to line him up against TC? I think that does horribly if he doesn't KO Redkach, so they might just be throwing money away here.

[Ruthless-RKO]

If the 120k is accurate, that's pretty decent considering people in the US only seemed to know Avanesyan from a win over a washed up Shawn Porter lord knows how many years ago. Gate seemed like it went well too.

As others have said though, the Broner deal doesn't look like good sense. I suppose they want to line him up against TC? I think that does horribly if he doesn't KO Redkach, so they might just be throwing money away here.

PBC told him he'd have to fight Godzilla with the money he was asking for.

[Ruthless-RKO]

$39.99 is much more affordable than $75+

It's the price of a cheap ticket.

[cpx2]

If the 120k is accurate, that's pretty decent considering people in the US only seemed to know Avanesyan from a win over a washed up Shawn Porter lord knows how many years ago. Gate seemed like it went well too.

As others have said though, the Broner deal doesn't look like good sense. I suppose they want to line him up against TC? I think that does horribly if he doesn't KO Redkach, so they might just be throwing money away here.

PBC told him he'd have to fight Godzilla with the money he was asking for.

Saw that. Can't argue with it really.

[Bandog]

$39.99 is much more affordable than $75+

It's the price of a cheap ticket.

Yes, so realistically, the 120K is more like 60K compared to a normal PPV.

[KiwiRider]

$39.99 is much more affordable than $75+

It's the price of a cheap ticket.

Yes, so realistically, the 120K is more like 60K compared to a normal PPV.

Where did 120K come from?
They are not saying how many buys it got. The gate did well, we could tell by the crowd size at the main event.

[Ruthless-RKO]

$39.99 is much more affordable than $75+

It's the price of a cheap ticket.

Yes, so realistically, the 120K is more like 60K compared to a normal PPV.

Where did 120K come from?
They are not saying how many buys it got. The gate did well, we could tell by the crowd size at the main event.

Yeh: TC always sells well in his home.

[Evander]

So what were the buys ?

[Mexi-Box]

No way they'll release ratings. Crawford barely sells. While he might have a crowd, his TV numbers are dire. 100K would be a massive success, but I'm thinking he did more like 30K-50K.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Press Release | BLK PRIME SETS 2023 GOALS: SIX PPV EVENTS

After a productive introduction into the world of pay-per-view boxing, BLK Prime, a Silicon Valley-based video-on-demand tech company, is full steam ahead for 2023. BLK Prime’s vision is to produce six major pay-per-view events in 2023, showcasing some of the biggest fights in boxing for the fans. “The plan in 2023 is to make the most compelling fights in boxing,” said Chester Johnson, Vice President of BLK Prime Boxing. “The fans deserve to see the best fighting the best and we will do everything in our power to make that happen. We are open to working with everyone in the sport to bring back the glory days of boxing. Our platform is extremely functional and delivers a high-quality stream. Our cable and satellite pay-per-view distribution agreements with our domestic and international partners are in place for 2023 as well."

The first event for BLK Prime in 2023 will feature former four-division world champion Adrien Broner (34-4-1, 24 KOs) vs. Ivan Redkach (23-6-1, 18 KOs) in a welterweight match-up. The scheduled ten-round bout, promoted by Christy Martin Promotions, will take place in Atlanta in February. More information will be announced at a later date.

On December 10th, BLK Prime showcased pound-for-pound king, Terence “Bud” Crawford (39-0, 30 KOs), who put his WBO welterweight title on the line against David Avanesyan (29-4-1, 17 KOs). The fight ended in round six when Crawford floored Avanesyan with a crushing right hook to the head. In the co-feature that night, superstar Cris Cyborg won a unanimous decision making her U.S. boxing debut a success, and solidifying a great night of boxing.

“I’m very humbled by everything that’s transpired in our first pay-per-view event,” continued Johnson. “Terence Crawford is an incredible fighter and proved he’s worthy to be showcased on the Pay-Per-View stage, as our buys did exceptionally well. Furthermore, we didn’t give away any outstanding complimentary tickets, so our gate did fantastically.”

Todd Grisham headed the star-studded commentary crew along with former world champions Zab Judah, Antonio Tarver, and Paulie Malignaggi, while Dave Ryan took control of the host desk. In addition, Lupe Contreras and Miguel Flores managed ring announcing duties, with Cheyenne McCargo serving as the unofficial scorecard judge.

“2023 will be a big year for BLK Prime,” Johnson concluded. “We plan on implementing some innovative features to our shows that I believe will make our events more entertaining for the fans. I'm looking forward to kicking off the new year with an amazing event”