Zuffa Boxing exceeded expectations on its debut. With more than 70,000 spectators at Allegiant Stadium and more than 41 million live views on Netflix, the inaugural event of the new promoter left a historic mark on boxing. The clash between Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford not only lived up to, but exceeded expectations for a show that was not broadcast under the traditional pay-per-view (PPV) model.
Just two months ago, Turki Alalshikh, the driving force behind Riyadh Season and a partner in the creation of Zuffa Boxing alongside TKO, had already hinted at it: “No more PPV… The PPV model has damaged boxing and we will no longer support it. We are with boxing fans”.
The Mayweather vs. Pacquiao mirror
Whenever PPV is discussed, the inevitable memory is the 2015 megafight between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao, which grossed more than $600 million thanks to 4.6 million PPV buys. That record still stands. However, with promoters migrating to streaming, it is possible that a phenomenon of that magnitude in the same format will never be repeated.
For former fighter and analyst Chael Sonnen, Netflix’s figures bring something new: credibility. On his podcast, he claimed that PPV numbers in boxing have always been unreliable because they are often inflated or estimated. Netflix, as a publicly traded company, is required to report truthful data to its shareholders and the public. “The information they provide must be accurate, or someone can go to prison,” he said bluntly.
The change of era
The current context is different from the glory days of PPV. In the last decade, only one fight, Gervonta Davis vs. Ryan Garcia in 2023, with more than 1.2 million buys, managed to sneak into the all-time top ten pay-per-view events. The rest belongs to the era of Tyson, De La Hoya, Mayweather and Pacquiao, when streaming did not yet exist.
Today, with global platforms such as Netflix offering these evenings within a standard subscription, fans have easier and cheaper access. This not only expands the audience, but also changes the revenue map and the business model of boxing.
Zuffa Boxing’s debut with Canelo vs. Crawford could mark a turning point: less reliance on PPV and more openness to mass streaming models. Records are already starting to be rewritten and, although the nostalgia of PPV is still present, the new era of boxing seems to lean towards accessibility and global reach.
Read the full article here
