PBC’s Smart Money
By Eddie Sanchez
In the legal world, many important decisions are made or unsettled based on optics; whether the decision will represent them in a position of power, or a compromising one.
Premier Boxing Champions just made a decision regarding the date for their next PPV event featuring undefeated Gervonta Davis (23-0, 22 KOs) and four division champ Leo Santa Cruz (37-1-1). The PPV bout was moved from October 24th to October 31st and will be held at the Alamodome in front of a maximum of 11,500 fans.
Is this a power move, or a clever way to escape the head-to-head battle with UFC 254, Khabib-Gaethje?
This past weekend we saw a similar head-to-head between the two organizations. The UFC promoted Adesanya-Costa, while PBC promoted a Charlo brothers double-header. UFC 253 was very successful and sold 700,000+, and according to most media outlets, the conservative estimation is that the UFC easily outsold the stacked PBC card.
Given this notion, is it fair to assume that the new fight date has just as much to do with escaping the UFC as it does with simply allowing fans? Considering that underselling the UFC by about a half-a-million buys is something they consider to be surpassing internal expectations, there should be no surprised with the recent move.
After all, Khabib is the organizations #2 ranked fighter Pound-for-Pound and has a much larger world-following than Davis and Santa Cruz combined. He has also hinted that this will be his second-to-last fight before retiring, so there is much intrigue.
Regardless of what you believe, PBC will still have to deal with the UFC, albeit to a slightly lesser extent, with Anderson Silva versus Uriah Hall the same night.
Although PBC will not battle a PPV card, the Silva fight might still steal some eyes considering the prospect that this is likely Spider’s last fight before his retirement.
Widely regarded as one of the greatest mixed martial artists of all time, and the fact that this fight is on ESPN+, which is a much cheaper alternative to a PPV purchase, it is reasonable to assume that PBC will feel some impact.
If there is legitimate concern about consumers being willing to spend $150 for two PPV cards on the same day, those who truly would be affected by the price aren’t likely to see a week postponement make a difference for them financially.
While there will still be some negative chatter about the optics surrounding PBC’s decision to move dates, it is likely that this will be ultimately recognized as a smart move.
Even if the financials aren’t positively impacted much, having the date moved will allow the media to cover their fight more than it could have been with one the most highly anticipated UFC fights of 2020.
This is a great thing, because this is an exciting fight!
Leo Santa Cruz is a future Hall of Famer and is technically looking to add a title from a fifth weight class. I stress “technically” because although this fight is being fought at 130 pounds, Davis’ 135 pound belt will also be up for grabs according to the WBA.
While many hardcore boxing fans may be shaking their heads at this, there is still some added intrigue. Gervonta Davis is extremely talented and is one of the brightest young stars (25) in the fight game, but he has also had issues making weight at the 135 pound level.
Will he be able to successfully cut an extra five pounds and will this limit him physically? It remains to be seen, but there will be a lot of chatter leading up to the weigh-in.
Shameless plug and all, but this is also a legitimate question. Gervonta Davis now has an additional week to cut weight, which should help him do-so successfully and in a safe manner.
My prediction is that Gervonta Davis will make weight and won’t be too negatively impacted from the cut. The early rounds of the fight will be fairly even as Santa Cruz will be able to utilize his immense skill and intelligence, but will ultimately fall at the hands of Davis who has only gone the distance one time in his career.
Let’s hope that there are zero issues leading to the PPV event, because despite the questions regarding the optics of moving the fight date, this will be an exciting fight and as a fan, I want as many people to see these two champions.
