By Allan Fox: Keith Thurman vs. Mario Barrios fight on FOX Sports pay-per-view on February 5th is selling for $74.95 for their clash at the Michelob Ultra Arena in Las Vegas. Hopefully, the event organizers at PBC aren’t shooting themselves in the foot with this price.
That price tag is a bit high for some boxing fans, as the pandemic is still going on, and it’s not a fight that is viewed as an elite-level match-up. For a fight like Thurman-Barrios, fans view it as a non-PPV fight that should be shown on regular FOX.
Is $74.95 for Thurman’s comeback tune-up?
At best, selling it for $35 would be viewed as reasonable, but it appears that PBC believes fans will be interested enough in the Thurman vs. Barrios fight and the undercard to be willing to pay $74.95.
People wouldn’t mind paying $74.95 to watch the former WBA/WBC welterweight champion Thurman (29-1, 22 KOs) take on a top 147-pounder like IBF/WBC champion Errol Spence Jr, WBO champion Terence Crawford or Yordenis Ugas. Still, Barrios, a fighter coming up from 140, falls short of that.
Thurman vs. Barrios undercard:
- Leo Santa Cruz vs. Keenan Carbajal
- Abel Ramos vs. Josesito Lopez
- Luis Nery vs. Carlos Castro
The former four-division world champion Leo Santa Cruz is the biggest name on the undercard, but he’s being matched against the little-known Keenan Carbajal in a tune-up fight.
Santa Cruz isn’t a top-level guy, so it’s expected to be a competitive match-up unless Leo isn’t the same fighter since his knockout loss to Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis in October 2020.
Leo will be coming off a sixteen-month layoff when he faces Carbajal, and that’s not good for him or the boxing fans paying to watch him face a warm-up opponent.
Fans wouldn’t mind paying to see Santa Cruz fight one of the top 126-pounders like Gary Russell Jr., Emanuel Navarrete, Leigh Wood, or Mauricio Lara, but not the unknown Carbajal. That fights a mismatch on paper.
Welterweight Josesito Lopez (38-8, 21 KOs) will be facing Abel Ramos (27-4-2, 21 KOs) on the card, but this isn’t a PPV-worthy fight.
At this point in Josesito’s career, he’s little more than a gatekeeper, and he’s always been that kind of a fighter. It’s a decent fight but not compelling worthy of sticking it on PPV.
With that said, this writer views Josesito vs. Ramos as a far superior fight than the Santa Cruz vs. Carbajal match-up. Ramos is still in his prime, and Josesito is always challenging, thanks to his power.
Thurman says his career is NOT over
“Two and half years, we got to come back someway, somehow. That’s what February 5th is about for me. We got a great challenger Mario Barrios,” said Keith Thurman to FOX Sports PBC.
“We’re both coming off our first career losses, which means both of us are going back to the drawing board, and we’re trying to make ourselves better.
“Someone is going to have to take a double ‘L’ back to back, and it might not feel good whoever that is. I’m pushing hard, grinding, and so when you come back in a couple of weeks, hopefully, it’s not your boy ‘One Time.’
“Hopefully, I live up to my name and only have to accept that ‘L’ one time, and then later this year, we’ll be bringing bigger and better fights to the welterweight division like I always have and like I always will.
“I seen your comment, ‘One Time, Some Times,’ but Keith Thurman will always be one of the best welterweights in the welterweight division today. Count me out if you feel like it, but I wouldn’t put your money on it.
“I’m coming back hard, I’m coming back strong, I’m coming back with my mind focused with a pure determination. My career is not over, okay?” said Thurman.
