By Jake Tiernan: Promoter Eddie Hearn was angry in reacting to Twitter talk of low pay-per-view numbers of 150K to 200K for Canelo Alvarez vs. John Ryder fight on DAZN.
Those rumors have gotten Hearn’s teapot boiling over, as he insists the true PPV buy numbers are “double” the 150k-200k, meaning that the Canelo vs. Ryder fight brought in a healthy 300K – 400K buy rate.
Hearn’s numbers sound like wishful thinking on his part because there was absolutely zero buzz about Canelo’s fight against Ryder (32-6, 18 KOs) in the week of the fight, as most boxing fans saw it as a mismatch and another example of Alvarez hand-picking a beatable guy.
Fans wanted to see Canelo fight David Benavidez or rematch Dmitry Bivol, who beat the stuffing out of him last year. The boxing public saw what Ryder was for Canelo: a guaranteed win.
With DAZN not releasing the numbers, all boxing fans have to go on is the rumors because most of them have already made up their minds and believe this rather than Hearn giving his two cents on what he believes overall buy ar for Canelo-Ryder.
What makes it hard to believe Hearn is these reasons:
1. Hearn sounding too emotional, in damage control mode
2. DAZN not releasing numbers
3. Lack of fan interest in Canelo-Ryder
4. Subscribers to DAZN angry at having to purchase fight
“Absolute b****cks! More like double that,” said Eddie Hearn to Boxing Social when told that reports are that Canelo vs. Ryder brought in 150,000 to 200,000 PPV buys.
“These are the times when I wish DAZN would just come out and say the numbers because those numbers are bull****.
“The fight was on DAZN, but also on various other pay-per-view platforms as well. Direct TV and many other platforms. So miles out on the numbers.”
Fans would think more of Hearn if he just came out and admitted that the Canelo vs. Ryder event bombed because they would see him as humble and willing to admit that they messed up by choosing ‘The Gorilla’ as Alvarez’s opponent for May 6th instead of one of the guys that people want to see him fight.
In hindsight, Canelo should have placed his fight with Ryder on regular DAZN, not behind a PPV firewall. Asking fans to pay to see a mismatch involving a guy with five losses on his record, with three of the defeats coming against fighters that you’ve already beaten, was a big mistake.
