PBC: PROGRESS REPORT, 2017
Caryn A. Tate talks to Timothy Smith about the status and future of PBC
WHEN Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) got started in early 2015, it turned the standard boxing business model on its head. Not only did its founder, Al Haymon, change things up completely by buying TV time upfront (rather than broadcasters paying the producer a rights fee); the fighters advised by Haymon were free agents. They weren’t asked to sign exclusive contracts with specific promoters or television networks. Instead, PBC worked with a variety of networks, which enabled their clients to have several TV options without the restrictions inherent in exclusivity.
“[At PBC], the promoter functions as what they used to function as – the guy who stages the fights,” said Timothy Smith, PBC’S Vice President of Communications. “Instead of making profit off the backs of the fighters, the promoter makes his profit from the staging of the fights. Whether that’s ticket sales, any outside sponsorships, things like that. In general, our clients are not really interested in signing exclusive deals with promoters or television networks, because that kind of exclusivity – while some people see it as insurance – our guys see it as chains. It locks them down and keeps them from having the flexibility to do fights wherever they want to do fights. If you have an exclusive deal with HBO, it’s gonna be difficult to make a fight with someone who’s at Showtime or wherever.”
Despite promising early television ratings and the PBC fighters themselves praising Haymon’s model, which enabled them to make more money and have more control over their careers, many in the mainstream American boxing media disparaged the organisation. It was often speculated that the PBC model would never be sustainable or that, because the fighters didn’t have exclusive promoters, they would never be stars.
Yet nearly three years later, PBC is not only still in business, their ratings show they’re still doing very well. In fact, when examining the top television ratings in boxing in the United States from October 29, 2016 to October 28, 2017, events produced by PBC are among the most-viewed. The No. 1-rated
‘OUR FIGHTERS SEE EXCLUSIVITY AS CHAINS THAT LOCK THEM DOWN’
show was PBC’S Keith Thurman vs Danny Garcia, broadcast on CBS on March 4, 2017 to a tune of 3,060,000 viewers. At four was PBC’S Deontay
Wilder vs Gerald Washington from February, which had 1,862,000 viewers on FOX. By comparison, the two and three spots were ESPN’S Manny
Pacquiao vs Jeff Horn (2,810,000) and FOX’S Mayweather vs Mcgregor prelims (2,438,000) respectively. As a point of interest, none of these top four spots were broadcast on premium cable.
“If you look back at what we’ve done this year, we put on the 154lbs show [Erislandy Lara/jermell Charlo/jarrett
Hurd triple-header on October 14] that was sort of unprecedented in terms of the number of titles all on the line in one night. And that obviously moves toward a unification which we’ll have more of in 2018. We’ll look into doing the same thing at 126 and 147.
“We’re looking at putting together some innovative shows. We’re trying to make 50/50 fights and championship fights that matter. To us, that’s what the sport’s all about, really.”
As far as the idea that boxers need an exclusive promoter in order to be stars – or the idea that a boxer isn’t a success if he or she isn’t a star – is something Smith and PBC disagree with.
“Every boxer is an individual. And not every boxer wants to be a star. Some guys just want to fight and they don’t want the things that come along with stardom, which is living in a fish bowl. The whole idea behind the stardom thing is something that’s been perpetuated by promoters: ‘The only way you can make top dollar is if you let me make you into a star.’ Well, the way guys make top dollar is, once they get in the ring they perform at their best and people see that, then people want to see them against the best.”
There are exceptions to the concept that PBC boxers don’t want to sign exclusive deals. In October, PBC fighter Daniel
Jacobs made headlines when he signed contracts with promoter Matchroom Boxing and TV network HBO. Smith confirmed that Jacobs
[inset] is still advised by Haymon and discussed the reasons why the talented middleweight had signed those deals. “It became a situation where Danny had the opportunity to pursue some of the fights that he wanted, and those fights were only gonna be available to him if he were on that side [HBO]. Our thing is not to stand in the way of people trying to advance their careers – we’re trying to help guys advance their careers.”
One of the most prevalent criticisms
of PBC is that Haymon is largely to blame for political blockades that stop certain fights from being made across the sport. But Smith said there is no ill will on Haymon’s side toward HBO or even promoter Top Rank, who filed a lawsuit against Haymon and settled in 2016. “Look, Jacobs went over and fought Gennady Golovkin on an [HBO] pay-perview card. Julio Cesar Chavez Jnr went over
and fought Canelo [Alvarez] on an [HBO] pay-per-view card. Dominic Wade went over and fought Golovkin on regular HBO. John Molina went over and fought Terence Crawford on an HBO card, a Bob Arum card. If the situation works for one of our clients, then we’re not gonna stand in the way.” As in all things, there is no onesize-fits-all pattern in boxing. But by all appearances, Haymon’s organisation seems to be on the right track by putting the fighters first. “The relationships we have with [these fighters] extend beyond the sport,” Smith said. “These are relationships that extend beyond what guys can do in the ring.”
‘WE’RE NOT GOING TO STAND IN THE WAY OF FIGHTERS TRYING TO ADVANCE’