Whyte-Povetkin, Selby-Kambosos & Usyk-Chisora POSTPONED

By Boxing News - 03/30/2020 - Comments

By Tim Royner: In a predictable move, Matchroom Boxing has postponed their three cards in May, effecting Dillian Whyte vs. Alexander Povetkin, Lee Selby vs. George Kambosos Jr, and Oleksander Usyk vs. Dereck Chisora.

The three Matchroom cards for May had to be rescheduled because of the COVID 19 pandemic, and there’s the possibility they could be postponed again.

These are the new dates for 2 of the 3 postponed cards:

  • Dillian Whyte vs. Alexander Povetkin – July 4
  • Lee Selby vs. George Kambosos Jr – July 11

Oleksandr Usyk vs. Dereck Chisora needs date

There still isn’t a new date for the Usyk vs. Chisora fight. Obviously, adding the Usyk-Chisora fight to July would be asking a lot of the British boxing public, as this would be yet another pay-per-view card on Sky Box Office. It probably doesn’t matter though, as there’s a good chance that all three of these cards may need to be postponed again if the coronavirus doesn’t disappear during the summer as some believe it will.

Given that Anthony Joshua vs. Kubrat Pulev is scheduled for June 20 on Sky Box Office, it would be putting fans in the position of needing to purchase 3 PPV events in two months if they ordered those fights.

It’s already asking a lot of UK fans to pay to see Joshua-Pulev on June 20 and then order Whyte-Povetkin just 2 weeks later on PPV on Sky.

What’s Matchroom’s Plan-B?

Staging the three Matchroom events behind closed doors could make it less likely that they’ll need to be postponed a second time. This is something that Eddie Hearn needs to be planning right now so that he’ll be prepared in case the coronavirus remains a problem for the remainder of 2020.

Matchroom needs to plan for a worst-case scenario where the virus is still there at the end of the year, and not going away in 2021. It’s better to be prepared or the worst than to be caught off guard if the coronavirus is still wreaking havoc in late 2020 and 2021.

The only way to predict the duration of the coronavirus is to look at the last 2 pandemics with the Swine Flue and Spanish Flu. Those pandemics lasted from 1.5 to 3 years.

Taking fights indoors could be the solution to the problem for the short term. If this virus goes away in the summer, as many are hoping, then Matchroom’s three postponed cards will be able to take place without a hitch. Unfortunately, things aren’t looking promising right now on the coronavirus front, and the planning should be at taking the fight behind closed doors.

Thus far, other sports like the NFL, NBA, and MLB haven’t made the move to stage events behind closed doors. But with the huge money those sports bring in, you have to believe that a move will be made in 2021 to stage the events behind closed doors if the COVID 19 pandemic is still there.

Combining cards would be a great option

A better option would be to combine the Whyte vs. Povetkin fight to the undercard of the Joshua vs. Pulev card so that boxing fans aren’t put in the position to order back to back PPV events.

With a lot of people not working now due to businesses being shut down because of the coronavirus pandemic, it’s a terrible time to bunch two PPV events back to back in Joshua-Pulev on June 20 and Whyte-Povetkin on July 4.

It would be a good idea for Matchroom to push the Usyk vs. Chisora fight to late 2020 so that it has a better shot at taking place on the scheduled date.

If Matchroom combined all three of these cards into one, that would be the best possible option to make boxing fans happy and to help them save money during a critical time. Yeah, Matchroom and the fighters would be losing out on money, but it would work better for the public, who are going through a tough time right now.