By Tim Royner: Fans in the UK will be able to watch lineal heavyweight champion Tyson Fury (27-0-1, 19 KOs) defend his title next month against undefeated highly ranked #2 WBO contender Tom Schwarz (24-0, 16 KOs) on June 15 LIVE on BT Sport Box Office pay-per-view.
This will be an opportunity for boxing fans in the UK to see Fury in action following his controversial 12 round draw against WBC heavyweight champion Deontay ‘Bronze Bomber’ Wilder (40-0-1, 39 KOs) last December in Los Angeles, California.
Fury didn’t get the victory in that fight, but he came awfully close and he and his many fans have claimed victory. There are some boxing fans that are less than pleased with the news of Fury fighting the little known 24-year-old Schwarz on BT Sport Box Office PPV, as they don’t see this fight as being PPV-worthy or even close to that.
Many fans upset at Fury vs. Schwarz being shown on PPV
To a lot of fans, Schwarz is seen as a powder puff heavyweight, a fighter who has been his resume off the backs of mediocre opposition, carefully selected by his promoter. Many of the fans don’t rate Schwarz as being talented enough for him and Fury to be fighting on pay-per-view. They see the Fury-Schwarz as one that should be shown on free television or not at all.
U.S fans can watch Fury-Schwarz on ESPN+
Fury vs. Schwarz will be also shown in the United States on ESPN+. This is a subscription service that goes for $4.99 per month. For boxing fans that are already subscribing to ESPN+, they won’t mind tuning in to see the fight, but the fight not bring in many new subscribers unfortunately. Fury, 6’9”, is still an unknown with the casual fans, and Schwarz is only known by hardcore fans in the U.S, and they don’t think too much of them. Many of them aren’t pleased with the way that Fury’s new promoters at Top Rank Boxing are matching him, as they want to him fighting the best in the heavyweight division, beginning with a much needed rematch against Wilder. The LIVE Fury-Schwarz fight stream on ESPN+ will start at at 10:00 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT. on June 15.
Fury, 30, will be fighting for the fourth time since making his comeback last year in June 2018. He had been out of the ring for 2 1/2 years. In Fury’s three fights of his comeback, he’s beaten Sefer Seferi and Francesco Pianeta, and fought to a 12 round draw against Wilder. Fury could have fought a rematch with Wilder, but he dropped out of negotiations for the fight after signing with the U.S promotional company Top Rank. They want to build up Fury’s profile in the U.S before they put the rematch with Wilder together. It’s thought that the Wilder vs. Fury rematch will take place in early 2020, although Fury says it’ll happen in December.
Fury vs. Schwarz on pay-per-view isn’t surprising
While there are many boxing fans grumbling about the Fury-Schwarz fight being shown on BT Sport Box Office pay-per-view with no heavyweight world title up for grabs, it’s not uncommon for fights of this nature to be on PPV. British heavyweight Dillian Whyte has been routinely fighting on Sky Box Office PPV in the UK in headlining his own cards against the likes of journeyman Dereck Chisora, Joseph Parker and Lucas ‘Big Daddy’ Browne. Whyte, 31, will be fighting fringe contender Oscar Rivas (26-0, 18 KOs) this summer on July 20 on Sky Box Office PPV, and the only title that will be up for grabs is Whyte’s WBC Silver heavyweight belt. That’s not a major title. That’s one of the WBC’s trinket titles. What Fury is doing in fighting Schwarz on BT Sport Box Office pay-per-view is no different that what Whyte has been doing, and what heavyweight Anthony Joshua is doing in fighting on Sky Box Office PPV.
Fury has the popularity of a heavyweight world champion; hence he’s now fighting on pay-per-view in the UK. Boxing in the United States need to pay as well to see Fury fight, as his match against Schwarz will be shown on ESPN+. Having the fight on that subscription service is obviously a gamble on Top Rank and ESPN’s part, because the the casual boxing fans in the U.S have no clue who either of these guys are. The hardcore fans aren’t going to want to waste their money to pay to see Fury, a fighter with an arguably boring style of fighting, slap up an inexperienced German heavyweight. Fury vs. Schwarz is likely not going to bring in big numbers on ESPN+ as far as new subscriptions. That’s why it would have been better for Top Rank to have put the Fury-Schwarz fight on regular ESPN so that the casual fans in the States could see Fury for the first time, and get familiar with him without having to subscribe to the service. For sales people that are trying to get customers hooked on a product, they often give away free samples initially. If the customers like the product, then they’re more willing to pay for it once it’s no longer free. With Fury, Top Rank is going about it the wrong way by his fight against an unknown heavyweight on the ESPN+ subscription service in the U.S. In the UK, the British boxing fans are already familiar with Fury, so it’s not surprising that his fight with Schwarz is on BT Sport Box Office pay-pr-view.