Cost of Parker fight ‘worth the risk’
The ability of Duco to secure international broadcasting rights for Joseph Parker’s heavyweight title fight against Andy Ruiz will likely determine the pay-per-view cost for Kiwis to watch his shot at history.
Despite a lack of local and central government funding, Parker’s promoters confirmed yesterday that the WBO championship showdown would take place at Auckland’s Vector Arena on December 10.
With a total cost of about $4 million, the fight will be the most expensive ever to be held on these shores – almost double that of Parker’s bout against Carlos Takam in May.
Duco chief executive Martin Snedden revealed at the announcement that general tickets would start from $99, however, the price of pay-per-view had yet to be confirmed.
Reports over the weekend suggested it could be between $70 and $100 – at least $20 more than the Takam fight – but Snedden insisted the pay-per-view would not be finalised until directors David Higgins and Dean Lonergan completed the broadcast negotiations.
Duco have predicted a possible global audience reaching more than 100 million people across 100 countries, though Ruiz’s promoter Bob Arum will take the lucrative rights to the United States and Mexico.
‘‘We’ve got a bit of an idea but we’ll see how the rest of Dean and David’s sponsorship and broadcasting negotiations go,’’ Snedden said when asked about pay-per-view.
‘‘We may gather in one of two more [sponsors] but probably of even more significance now will be the extent to which we can break into the international broadcasting market.
‘‘It won’t be any trouble securing deals that get this fight shown all around the world – we just want to extract a reasonable amount of value out of each of those deals to help us meet that bottom line.’’
Duco’s decision to persist with the fight in Auckland is a huge coup Kiwi fight fans, and indeed the city.
It is the first time New Zealand has hosted a world title fight of any significance, but it comes at a huge cost stemming from a range of factors, including:
The fight purse for both Parker and Ruiz, which Snedden said would be at market rate.
The cost of hiring Vector Arena which, with a capacity of 10,000, holds three times more people than any of the venues they have previously used in New Zealand.
The cost of assembling the undercard. Duco’s Australian welterweight Jeff Horn, the second-ranked contender in the IBF and No 4 in the WBO, has already been confirmed to appear.
The sanctioning fees to the WBO.
But Snedden said it was all worth the risk to give Parker the best chance at victory.
‘‘If he manages to take advantage of the home advantage and grab a title then the long-term benefits for him and for us just keep growing,’’ Snedden added.
The pay-per-view price will undoubtedly be the biggest talking point among New Zealand fans, though.
Without pay TV propping it up, the fight simply would not get off the ground.
However, it remains a contentious issue among the public, many of whom believe it is priced too high, while others have taken issue at the way Duco and broadcast partners Sky have cracked down on illegal online streaming.
Snedden said that has only added to their costs but made no apologies for the hardline stance.
‘‘This is a big, big fight so that may cost us a little bit more, but so what? It’s worth doing it, it’s our property, it’s Sky’s property.
‘‘There is no legal justification for people stealing that property and we have a right to defend it and we will defend it.’’
‘‘This is a big, big fight so that may cost us a little bit more, but so what? It’s worth doing it.’’ Duco chief executive Martin Snedden, right