PROMOTER WAR
Matt Christie speaks to Eddie Hearn after the promoter confirms KH will be staging Whyte-chisora II on Sky Sports Box Office, on the same night that BT Sport Box Office host Warrington-frampton
Hearn and Warren have their say
THE clash is an unfortunate one and not great for boxing fans. But you might argue, from a business standpoint, it’s a potential masterstroke.
It’s genuinely not because it doesn’t really suit anybody. I can understand what you’re saying. But you’re blocking or trying to affect something that will also have a detrimental effect on your own numbers, do you know what I mean? The better move [for us] would have been to go on the 15th because you get a free run at it, you run a payper-view (PPV) before their PPV. So actually [is it a business masterstroke?], not really.
I can understand the strategy to crush their numbers on the 22nd and it will affect BT Sport Box Office. But we’re going to lose numbers by doing it on the same night too.
Naturally, it’s two completely different fights and two completely different markets. Frampton-warrington is a hardcore fans’ fight, it’s not a fight for the casuals, it’s never going to attract casuals, even if it wasn’t on the same night as us.
Also, if this wasn’t Warrington frampton, if it was [Deontay] Wilder [tyson] Fury [on December 22] we would have had no choice but to not go. But, again, not being critical of Frampton warrington – look, I did Frampton[scott] Quigg [in February 2016], I know the numbers – it’s not a threat.
We will still lose 50,000 buys, it could even be more for running the same night, so it’s not ideal.
This isn’t a ‘move’. Anybody can check the venues for December. There is nothing, apart from December 22. So the only option we would have had [to avoid the clash] is to go to a venue that would have lost us a hell of lot of money, compared to the O2 Arena, or go in January. So why not go in January?
Because it’s a poor month for PPV. Because Dillian wants to fight Anthony Joshua in April or at least have to opportunity to do so if he wins. If we go in January that wouldn’t be the case.
The first date [available after December] is February 2 and I’ve got another fight planned there for that date anyway. And Frampton-warrington is just not big enough to stop me from staging Whytechisora on the 22nd.
It’s not ideal but I’m happy to lose 50,000 buys to get that date and that venue, if that makes sense. It’s a consideration across the numbers. What we’re going to lose on PPV we’ll make up on the gate. Were you under pressure to make another PPV in 2018?
No. We’re under no instruction to do another PPV.
The only instruction we’re under is that every fighter wants to fight on PPV. And the numbers keep getting better and better and better.
Look at Whyte against [ Joseph] Parker, which happened on July 28 – which is a horrible day for PPV, because people are on holiday, it’s the summer, it’s hot – and we nearly did 400,000 buys. By the way, Whyte’s fight with Lucas Browne [in March, not on PPV] did 700,000 on Sky.
So, Whyte is a number driver.
Did we have to do PPV? No. But then obviously the difference with this fight being on PPV and not PPV is that the two fighters will earn well over seven figures each. And if it was on Saturday Night Fight Night, they might earn three or fourhundred grand each.
We definitely didn’t have to do another PPV, but we did if we wanted to make this fight.
So is this fight a necessity for Dillian Whyte to get the Joshua fight?
Whyte did not have to take this fight. If I’m Dillian Whyte I would not take this fight. Because if Wilder doesn’t take the fight against Joshua [on April 13, 2019], and there’s a very strong chance he won’t, Whyte gets the fight. So why would you fight a guy coming off a career best win, who you’ve had a war with before which could have gone either way. You’re gambling. The money he’s going to make for this fight is nowhere near what he’s going to make for the Joshua fight but he believes he’s improved and he believes he’ll win and he wants the fight.
Chisora has everything to gain. Chisora and [his promoter, David] Haye think they’re going to fight ‘AJ’ in April but that’s not even on the radar.
Even if Chisora wins? Surely that then becomes the logical fight.
Maybe. But it’s a different kind of relationship because Chisora was almost like Joshua’s hero growing up in Finchley. Every time you mention Chisora [to Joshua], even sparring, he says, ‘Oh no, I’m not sparring Del’. But Haye, in his head, thinks Chisora is going to knock out Whyte and now we’re going to fight Joshua. That’s how Haye thinks.
‘WHAT WE WILL LOSE ON PPV WE WILL MAKE UP ON THE GATE’
Frank Warren is infuriated with Hearn’s decision and he struggles to see how Whytechisora II is worthy of a %R[ 2IĆFH platform, as Matt Christie discovers
‘HEARN IS ADMITTING THAT WE HAVE THE BETTER FIGHT’
HOW frustrating was the announcement?
In a lot of ways I find it frustrating. I find it insulting for the fans and insulting for the fighters. I think the arrogance is unbelievable. It’s about Matchroom and Sky wanting to drive out BT pay-per-view competition. It’s disrespectful to Josh [Warrington] and Carl [Frampton]. But, ultimately, it’s damaging to the sport.
There’s no reason for it. BT Sport and us, we’re investing long-term in our boxing strategy and we’re interested in delivering quality for the boxing fans.
Hearn is saying that hardcore fans will buy Warrington vs Frampton over Whyte and Chisora, so he’s obviously admitting that we have a better and more significant fight. Our two fighters are at the top of their game fighting in a world title fight and getting a payday before Christmas. We want to grow the sport by putting on the best fighters at the top level, not by conning the public with a rematch where there’s nothing on the line. Why is that a PPV? What is it? It’s two fighters who are going to use pantomime to sell fights. For me it’s about the greed of Hearn and Sky.
What happens if Chisora wins? Is he going to fight Joshua? They are already saying that’s not going to be the case. If Chisora isn’t an acceptable opponent for Joshua on PPV, why is he fighting Dillian Whyte on PPV? Why have people got to pay for it? It’s a cash grab.
Do you take this personally?
They’re going to war with all of us. It affects all four fighters. If they lose 10 PPV buys it affects the fighters’ upside. Why would you do that to the fighters? For him [Hearn] to try and prove some point? It’s ridiculous. Think about it. Chisora was getting bashed up by Carlos Takam and pulled out that lottery-winning punch – does that make him PPV? Does that one punch now mean everyone has got to pay 20 quid to watch Dereck Chisora?
I know Dereck, I promoted him. The level he’s at, he showed against Tyson Fury in 2014. Hearn has been saying ‘When has Fury ever been in a good fight?’ Well he was in a good fight against Chisora in 2014, he stopped him, he done what Whyte couldn’t do. And he won every second of every round. Chisora hasn’t become a better fighter since then. If I was a Sky Sports subscriber I’d be saying, ‘What am I paying for? It wasn’t that long ago that Hearn said there would be a world title fight on every Saturday night on Sky. When did they last show a world title fight that the public didn’t have to pay extra for?
At BT we’ve put on world title fights, including big stadium shows, all shown on linear TV. That’s what we’re about, getting guys like Warrington, Frampton and Fury in position for quality PPV fights.
How do you respond to Hearn’s predictions that Warrington-frampton will take ‘50,000 buys’ from Whyte-chisora II?
Whatever it takes out of his buys or our buys, it takes out of the boxers’ pockets – if they are on upside. Pathetic! He tried to sign Tyson Fury and put him straight on PPV. He says he’s got a billion pounds to spend in America [Hearn’s deal with DAZN], but he can’t give the Sky customers in the UK a world title fight on regular Sky. Why doesn’t he do that with his billion dollars?
Are BT Sport concerned with this clash?
They’re not happy, why would they be? Sky can’t be happy either. Are the fans happy? Are you happy? Is anyone happy? It’s a joke, it’s disgraceful. Sky should be ashamed of themselves.
Do you think the Board should have stepped in?
They’re not going to do anything. But at the end of the day it should be up to us, as promoters, to take all this into consideration.
Look at the quality of our PPVS [on BT Sport]: Canelo-golovkin II, Wilder-fury, Warrington-frampton. Three events featuring the best in their divisions fighting each other.
If Tyson wins, we’d love to match him with Joshua. Wilder would like to fight Joshua too if he wins. But it ain’t going to happen because the fans are going to pay for the winner of the donkey derby between Chisora and Whyte to fight Joshua. Whyte-chisora is here to try and make Joshua’s next opponent credible.
The perception is that Sky Sports will win this ratings battle. Is there anything you can do about that?
Let me tell you something. We are running our show. We will not cancel it. I have been in tougher fights than this in my time in boxing. Been there, seen it and done it. We are where we are.
We will have a good undercard but we don’t need to dress it up. Warrington vs Frampton is a great fight and people will buy it. We don’t need to turn it into something it’s not. Okay, the first Whytechisora fight was a decent fight. But let me put it like this, so was Johnny Garton vs Gary Corcoran [on BT]. Would I put a rematch on PPV? No I would not.