Exclusive - Khan v McCloskey will NOT be PPV

[Coco]

I'd be amazed if Smith had any input into making the decision to pull the PPV on it.

I've given him enough stick in the past, i'm quite prepared for him to take the credit!

[stujones]

I'd be amazed if Smith had any input into making the decision to pull the PPV on it.

I've given him enough stick in the past, i'm quite prepared for him to take the credit!

Even if Hagler is correct. Its not a personal swipe at Smith - but I would agree I am sure this would be an executive decision based on figures beyond the "head of boxing" - certainly don't it was all down to him.

[johnswan1]

Yeah that's what I thought from his post but it wasn't on their schedule.

You can see their TV fixtures here and Berto-Otiz is listed:

http://www.skysports.com/boxing

Na, that's not their TV fixtures, just a fixture list. Doesn't necessarily mean they are showing them. The 'Live on Sky' section is the ones they are showing.

It is their fixture list. I've never seen a fight appear here that they didn't show.

[Scottrf]

You can see their TV fixtures here and Berto-Otiz is listed:

http://www.skysports.com/boxing

Na, that's not their TV fixtures, just a fixture list. Doesn't necessarily mean they are showing them. The 'Live on Sky' section is the ones they are showing.

It is their fixture list. I've never seen a fight appear here that they didn't show.

I have. Rarely, but I have. http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,12947,00.html is the listings. Will see if they announce on ringside I guess.

[Asterix]

Dont be so miserable, Sky still had to make the final decision

Miserable? Did you quote the wrong person?

Not that i'm aware . We;re quick enough to jump on Adam Smith when we dont like things. We've been calling for this to be none PPV for weeks and he has delivered whethere he has been forced into it or not. Give the guy some credit

I've never said anything about Adam Smith before. And I don't get why my post is classed as "miserable". I was just saying hold your horses and think for a second. I'm actually one of the positive posters here.

[UpperCrust]

I'm not really sure what you're getting at with that last comment but i stand by what i said. He's had an easy time of it in the paid ranks so to say he deserves a rest is ludicrous. You can't believe he should fight a couple of patsies after taking on his first legitimate contender.

Completely disagree with you here pal. He's just had the toughest fight of his career against a top 4 guy in his division and he's almost certainly fighting the No. 1 in the division in a couple of months for a unification.

In my view, there is nothing wrong whatsoever in fighting a 'patsie' in between these (if that's what you consider an unbeaten EBU fighter to be)

[dondada]

Miserable? Did you quote the wrong person?

Not that i'm aware . We;re quick enough to jump on Adam Smith when we dont like things. We've been calling for this to be none PPV for weeks and he has delivered whethere he has been forced into it or not. Give the guy some credit

I've never said anything about Adam Smith before. And I don't get why my post is classed as "miserable". I was just saying hold your horses and think for a second. I'm actually one of the positive posters here.

I think what he's getting at is that your initial post seemed to suggest Sky/Smith shouldn't be praised for this. I disagree - you sound like a miserable bastard

[Scottrf]

Seems like it was Barney Francis' decision rather than Smith's.

[dondada]

Seems like it was Barney Francis' decision rather than Smith's.

Blimey, the posh boy can't get a break, can he? He gets slagged for decisions which also might not be his but never gets the credit

[Scottrf]

EDIT: Ignore this post, just realised how boring a response to your comment it is...

I think Sky have been listening in a lot of their recent output, didn't expect him to move mountains in a day. Perhaps I was overpicky there, Smith is almost used as a synonym for 'Sky's decision making team'.

[Asterix]

I think what he's getting at is that your initial post seemed to suggest Sky/Smith shouldn't be praised for this. I disagree - you sound like a miserable bastard

If I keep punching you are you going to thank me when I stop? That's how I view pay per views. They shouldn't exist in the first place, imo. Well, on top of a subscription, at least.

I like the idea of paying for Internet streams on a one-off basis, which has worked for me a couple of times with Primetime.

[dondada]

I think what he's getting at is that your initial post seemed to suggest Sky/Smith shouldn't be praised for this. I disagree - you sound like a miserable bastard

If I keep punching you are you going to thank me when I stop? That's how I view pay per views. They shouldn't exist in the first place, imo. Well, on top of a subscription, at least.

Hey, we're agreed on that. But this is a little step in the right direction.

And use a less aggressive analogy next time or I'll think you're miserable and lairy with it 8)

[leforge]

Anyone think khan will pull out of the fight and just fight Bradley in July? Apparently ricky hatton tried to talk barney Francis into keeping it pay per view with buckland & munroe fights!

[Asterix]

And use a less aggressive analogy next time or I'll think you're miserable and lairy with it 8)

Haha! I ought to end every post with this from now on:

[ThereByTheGrace]

How very nice of Sky; so you dont need to pay 15quid on top of a c£40 subscription.

Whoopee de fecking do - "Pay Per View" is a disgrace and I could count a handful of fights (if lucky) that were "Pay Per View" quality in a UK only bill.

[whiskey]

Will Amir get 'injured' now ?

;;-)

[Josh1111]

And use a less aggressive analogy next time or I'll think you're miserable and lairy with it 8)

Haha! I ought to end every post with this from now on:

Cheers for the help there Ian, i thought i had him all wrong for a second

It's all good banter though you miserable git. All hail Sky/Smith

[jtourettes]

Anyone think khan will pull out of the fight and just fight Bradley in July? Apparently ricky hatton tried to talk barney Francis into keeping it pay per view with buckland & munroe fights!

I've yet to be convinced that the Bradley fight will go ahead. I fully expect to hear from the Khan camp that Bradley has asked for too much money.

[Happy Slapper]

The problem has always been that Khan was on PPV far too early in his career. He didn't get the chance to build up any following in the same way Hatton did.

Although this will hurt financially for him now, it's absolutely the best move for him in terms of his future PPV potential.

He now has a great chance to reach out to a wider audience and sell the Bradley fight.

I wasn't going to buy the PPV, but will definitely watch the fight now.

Great move by SKY, great move for Amir (long term) and great move for us fans.

[stujones]

Can see what your saying Happy Slapper, but lets not forget he did have time on ITV - and should have had a much bigger following than Hatton.... Hatton is a phenomenan that I don't think we will ever see again.... filling out the MEN within days fighting bums for the WBU title. Even before winning the WBU title, you could buy Hatton shirts in Lancaster and Bolton on street market stalls - Baring Tyson and Ali I've never seen another boxer have memorbelia on such stalls.

The Prescott and Fagin fight shouldn't have been on PPV - but then it comes a point of just having to accept not everyone will be a Hatton. Khan came home from Athens a bit of a national hero - even though he fell at the last hurdle, he and Holmes became the faces of the games. His fight with Kindalen was watched by millions (our last chance for Gold etc).

[JC]

Khan came home from Athens a bit of a national hero - even though he fell at the last hurdle, he and Holmes became the faces of the games. His fight with Kindalen was watched by millions (our last chance for Gold etc).

Khan was almost too big of a star for this country when he turned pro. A bit like Audley he ended up the main attraction for a lot of people tuning almost straight away. Every move was scrutinsed and people got on his back about opponents not realising fighters need to adjust to the pros and develop.

It's almost as though he would have benefited from starting out in America where he could fight on undercards of bigger fights with less pressure. Although I realise this may not have been feasible from a business point of view.

[freddydoesdallas]

Can see what your saying Happy Slapper, but lets not forget he did have time on ITV - and should have had a much bigger following than Hatton.... Hatton is a phenomenan that I don't think we will ever see again.... filling out the MEN within days fighting bums for the WBU title. Even before winning the WBU title, you could buy Hatton shirts in Lancaster and Bolton on street market stalls - Baring Tyson and Ali I've never seen another boxer have memorbelia on such stalls.

The Prescott and Fagin fight shouldn't have been on PPV - but then it comes a point of just having to accept not everyone will be a Hatton. Khan came home from Athens a bit of a national hero - even though he fell at the last hurdle, he and Holmes became the faces of the games. His fight with Kindalen was watched by millions (our last chance for Gold etc).

Definitely, a lot of fighters have seen how much money Hatton made from the ppv and the fan base he had and think it's a god given right for them to develop such fans and therefore money. It was freakish how successful Hatton was. The tv companies are desperate for another one too and so fill the fighters heads with promises of ppv millions. They need to work at it and hope for a bit of luck.

The Maidaina fight could have been Khan's but as only a couple of hundred thousand saw it, the rest won't really care. A casual fan of the sport or just an old Hatton fan won't be logging onto youtube to watch the fight highlights. They'll hear about it on the news maybe see a couple of images and be done with it

[stujones]

Khan came home from Athens a bit of a national hero - even though he fell at the last hurdle, he and Holmes became the faces of the games. His fight with Kindalen was watched by millions (our last chance for Gold etc).

Khan was almost too big of a star for this country when he turned pro. A bit like Audley he ended up the main attraction for a lot of people tuning almost straight away. Every move was scrutinsed and people got on his back about opponents not realising fighters need to adjust to the pros and develop.

It's almost as though he would have benefited from starting out in America where he could fight on undercards of bigger fights with less pressure. Although I realise this may not have been feasible from a business point of view.

Well, Warren tried doing things different - if I remeber rightly - Khan was on undercards (officially) of bills.... there was 2 British title fights on his debut - Even later on he fought on the Undercard of Williams vs Skelton etc - even when he went to 10 rounders he was an undercard fighter - Williams vs Harrison etc.

However, aside from that last fight mentioned - Khan did seem to be the main attraction, but I think Warren did his best to try and avoid an Audley situation - just that I don't think he had much power in how ITV edited the shows.

[stujones]

Can see what your saying Happy Slapper, but lets not forget he did have time on ITV - and should have had a much bigger following than Hatton.... Hatton is a phenomenan that I don't think we will ever see again.... filling out the MEN within days fighting bums for the WBU title. Even before winning the WBU title, you could buy Hatton shirts in Lancaster and Bolton on street market stalls - Baring Tyson and Ali I've never seen another boxer have memorbelia on such stalls.

The Prescott and Fagin fight shouldn't have been on PPV - but then it comes a point of just having to accept not everyone will be a Hatton. Khan came home from Athens a bit of a national hero - even though he fell at the last hurdle, he and Holmes became the faces of the games. His fight with Kindalen was watched by millions (our last chance for Gold etc).

Definitely, a lot of fighters have seen how much money Hatton made from the ppv and the fan base he had and think it's a god given right for them to develop such fans and therefore money. It was freakish how successful Hatton was. The tv companies are desperate for another one too and so fill the fighters heads with promises of ppv millions. They need to work at it and hope for a bit of luck.

The Maidaina fight could have been Khan's but as only a couple of hundred thousand saw it, the rest won't really care. A casual fan of the sport or just an old Hatton fan won't be logging onto youtube to watch the fight highlights. They'll hear about it on the news maybe see a couple of images and be done with it

I personally think the fighter themselves have less say than your implying - but I agree.... Hatton was a one off and a freak in terms of popularity - it didn't matter who the opponent was it would sell.... and he didn't have the terrestial TV base that the likes of Eubank, Benn, and Lewis had - which seemed to be the essential thing.

[Scottrf]

Is the Berto fight still being shown?

I've never heard it announced. I believe someone confused their fixture list with TV listings.