De La Hoya Slams Canelo For Charging $89.99 – ‘It’s Just Robbery’
Oscar De La Hoya ripped Canelo Alvarez for charging fans $89.99 for his upcoming fight with Edgar Berlanga.
Canelo boxes on Mexican Independence Weekend on September 14 in a defense of his WBA, WBO and WBC super middleweight belts. He will go up against the Puerto Rican fans as Berlanga aims to shock the world. However, Canelo is the massive favorite as there is an expectation on him to get a routine win. He will go up against the UFC 306 card. It takes place from The Sphere in Las Vegas, the first-ever combat sports event to be held at the arena.
Turki Alalshikh has said he wants a global PPV price of less than $20 across the globe. That presents a major threat to high PPV prices, forcing fighters to box better opposition. It also means fans can avoid investing in those fights by seeking value for money elsewhere. If it sets a precedent where fans can pay less to get competitive fights, fighters like Canelo will have to consider what they charge moving forward. De La Hoya did not hold back on his criticism over the price.
De La Hoya On Canelo
“We’re away from the boxing match that nobody asked for and the UFC event that everybody will be watching. Canelo is fighting Berlanga, another snoozefest. They’re trying to sell a PPV for $90 at a $500 minimum in person. It’s just robbery at this point to pay for another lame Canelo that always goes the distance against a sub-par opponent. I love the sport of boxing more than anything, and I will be watching boxing matches anywhere,” De La Hoya said
If PPV prices are reduced, fighters will want a higher guarantee moving forward. That places a major burden on promoters, who have to think about the bottom line. However, the rise of the Saudis may change that. They have shown a willingness to pay big purses for the right fights. The Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk fight was made without negotiating purse splits. Both fighters were given a fixed-guarantee over what they could earn.
PPV Model
Canelo is in a position where he can demand big purses if his demands are realistic. He requested $200 million to fight David Benavidez, even something the Saudis are not keen on doing. The Kingdom has expressed their intention to set up a Saudi Boxing League, with the aim of restructuring how boxing works as an alternative to the four governing bodies. Reports indicated they were in talks to buy a stake in Matchroom Boxing and Golden Boy Promotions in a deal worth around $4-5 billion. The growing influence of the Saudis poses a threat to the traditional PPV model.
“We have a plan for the future to have something like a league. We don’t discuss about the belts until now. But in my opinion around 68 world champions is a crazy number,” Turki Alalshikh
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