THE AMERICAN DREAM
Adam Smith talks to Elliot Worsell about exodus of British boxers
Sky Sports Boxing chief Adam Smith reacts to the exodus of British boxers
HOW do you feel about so many British boxers wanting to fight in America at the moment? It has always been the place to go. I remember back in the 90s at Sky we had various small shows around Britain, but the big news was always in America. I don’t think that’s changed. I think what may have altered in the last five or six years is that suddenly thousands more are coming out to watch boxing in Britain. There was sort of a halcyon period of stadium shows and it caused a shift in the landscape. Britain, as opposed to the US, became the place to go.
But, fundamentally, it comes down to finances and the way the landscape has changed means fighters are getting very well paid for going to America and it’s harder to turn those opportunities down.
How does this impact the boxing on Sky Sports?
It’s a double-edged sword for us. The big fights in America are at three or four o’clock in the morning [UK time] and that’s not good for us. We much prefer big fights at 10 o’clock at night. But we’re lucky we’ve got a mixture of Saturday Fight Nights at that time and then we can also bring the best matches from America.
Obviously, the money is there. You only have to look at what DAZN are paying and what ESPN have just paid Tyson Fury. It’s a golden time for fighters to cash in by going to America.
It’s not a precedent, either. We’ve seen plenty of fighters from Britain do this in the past. But it has certainly become more regular now because of the state of play in America.
If potential UK headliners end up boxing in America, what does that mean for Sky Sports’ UK events?
We have to make sure we maintain the quality here. We have to make sure the likes of Joshua Buatsi, Lawrence Okolie, Anthony Fowler and Joe Cordina, and all those guys coming through, step up.
The slight problem we have at the moment is that James Degale, George Groves, Tony Bellew and David Haye have all recently retired and Amir Khan and Kell Brook don’t have too many miles left. We’re soon going to be left with a new generation and, as always with boxing, it comes in cycles. Whereas the 2012 brigade are now up and running, the 2016 lot are still a little too fresh. We need to develop them fairly rapidly but obviously the trainers and matchmakers want to hold them back, which I understand at times.
I wasn’t happy about our recent Ted Cheeseman show, [on February 2] quality-wise, and made that very clear to Eddie [Hearn]. I just thought that wasn’t good enough, but Eddie responded very well with two great shows on March 23 and March 30.
Cheeseman had a chance and there will be chances for the rest to come through, make some noise and hopefully become headliners in Britain. We’ve just got to bide our time a bit.
In the meantime, there will be fighters who take fights in America, like Callum Smith and possibly Kell Brook. Callum made good money in the World Boxing Super Series and, the truth is, DAZN are paying huge amounts and so are ESPN. We’re very aware there’s a move to America. It’s something we could try and fight, but I think it’s better we embrace it.
How has British boxing’s popularity changed in the last five or six years?
Before the 2012 Olympics we were working with four promoters and they were all trying to put on decent shows. Ultimately, though, we were going up and down the country to 800-seater leisure centres and were paying huge amounts on production costs. The viewers just weren’t engaged. There was no real narrative.
As soon as London 2012 came around, that was the start. We decided to go with Matchroom as a single promoter and Eddie, with his passion and business acumen from his dad, had the opportunity to build a really powerful stable. We had Anthony Joshua leading the line, which was great, but he wasn’t ready. We then had Carl Froch-george Groves, which captured the imagination and drew 80,000 people to Wembley. That was a big focal point and so was Floyd Mayweather-manny Pacquiao being made.
Soon Wembley and the Principality Stadium became regular venues, which is absolutely crazy if you think how many times we sold 80- or 90-thousand tickets. Before that we hadn’t at all. There’s no question we can do that again if Joshua fights in Britain at the back end of the year, or if the Joshua-fury fight happens in 2020.
What should and shouldn’t be on pay-per-view at this stage?
The big nights are great in any sport, not just boxing. People love the big moments and that’s what Box Office events provide. They give you the huge build-up, massive production and hopefully the best fights and cards. The Box Office events are important for us all, but we want to make sure we only deliver them when we feel it is right. We think of our customers before anything.
We haven’t had a pay-per-view event since December 22 and it looks like we won’t have one now until June 1 [ Joshua-miller]. While the market is becoming a little saturated, with BT and ITV throwing their hats into the ring, we’ve got to be careful there’s not too many.
Are you concerned about a lack of PPV stars right now?
There is a bit of a gap now but Dillian Whyte has had a couple of successful pay-per-view events and we can still do [Amir] Khan vs. [Kell] Brook. There are fights to be made but it’s all about not going to the well too many times.
We’re in that in-between stage. Anthony Joshua is a certified Box Office star and there’s a chance for others to develop into these roles in the next 12 to 18 months. With all the recent retirements, there has to be a sort of pause and respite before we go again. That’s just the cycle of boxing.
‘WE COULD TRY AND FIGHT IT BUT IT’S BETTER WE EMBRACE IT’