Canelo Alvarez vs Sergey Kovalev: Was DAZN Waiting On The UFC A Strategic Move or a Bad One?
Boxing and the UFC have been waging a battle of who’s truly the top Alpha combat sport since the rise MMA’s rise in popularity in the late 90’s. At the same time, boxing took a hit primarily because the most popular division (heavyweight) seemed to be in a drought of eye-catching and exciting fighters.
Both sides loyal supporters have argued their case as to why each beloved sport trumps the other. However, what we witnessed on November 2 while awaiting the Canelo Alvarez vs Sergey Kovalev main event to start was an example of Boxing being “punked” by the UFC.
“How so” you ask?
MAKING BOXING’S BIGGEST STAR WAIT??
DAZN, who’s still new in boxing, made a huge splash when they secured the services of the sport’s biggest star in Alvarez. He is what one would call the “cash cow” of boxing due to his popularity and the amount of money his fights are able to generate.
Not only that, but he’s truly a great fighter as his resume speaks for itself.
Further evident of what we perceived was the power of Canelo was the ten year, 365 million dollar deal he received from DAZN. Even further, we have seen viable champions like Billy Joe Saunders, Callum Smith, Demetrius Andrade, Jermall Charlo, former champions Gennady Golovkin and Sergey Kovalev put their careers on hold as they waited to see what Canelo would do next!
However after the actions from DAZN on November 2, we’re force to not only look at Alvarez and question how powerful and influential he really is, but also ask, “what the hell was DAZN thinking by letting the biggest name in all of combat sports wait well over an hour to step in the ring?”
It was so bad that both fighters were seen at times in their respective locker rooms stretched out on the couch looking as if they were a few minutes away from falling asleep or just seemingly looking perplexed. To make things worse the MGM showed the UFC main event on the big screens for the fans in attendance to see.
A PLAUSIBLE EXPLANATION
UFC 244 took precedence over boxing when that simply shouldn’t have happened. The main event saw Jorge Masvidal take on Nate Diaz in a non-title fight between two of the sports mediocre stars. The truth of the matter is that while both fighters are decent names in the UFC, their names don’t warrant what happened on November 2.
Now if this were the sport’s mega stars that would be the equivalent to what Canelo is in boxing like Jon Jones or Conor McGregor, it would be a little easier to understand.
DAZN commentator and former WBO junior middleweight champion Sergio Mora claimed the wait was “a lost battle for boxing.” While many fans have expressed the same sentiment, others have an optimistic look on the ordeal.
The idea that DAZN waited in order to pull in more of the UFC fan base is not an uncommonly shared opinion. In fact it makes sense, although, it would be a very risky move by the streaming service. Since the actual main event happened well after midnight on different parts of the United States (and the world), many fans could have turned in for the night and became disinterested in staying up to watch boxing.
Additionally, maybe one of the reasons for the concession was due to the Masvidal vs Diaz event being aired on the more accessible ESPN. DAZN of course is an application program that is only viewable to those that paid for it. ESPN can easily be seen just by going to a local sports bar or restaurant.
I guess the final number of viewers would tell us but DAZN is known keep this information a secret so don’t hold your breath!
LIKE IT OR NOT, OTHER STARS WOULD NOT HAVE LET THIS HAPPEN TO THEM!
Dana White, who’s planning to enter boxing as a promoter in 2020, has to be enjoying this as the streaming service clearly let their inexperience when it comes to dealing with high priority events manifest. This is a black-eye for boxing that didn’t have to happen. It’ll be interesting to see how Canelo feels on the issue.
One thing for sure is neither Showtime, HBO or maybe even ESPN and FOX would’ve let this happen! If by some chance they would’ve tried this, previous/current top fighters who fought on some of the aforementioned networks like Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao would’ve quickly shot down that idea!
Actually, Mayweather could come out of retirement and this still would not happen!
Simply put, shame on DAZN for choosing the UFC over Boxing on a day where the biggest star in all of combat sports made history!
Maybe this is a testament to why boxing should stop marinating fights in an attempt to milk the fans and focus more on consistently making the biggest match-ups possible! But hey…what do we know?
By: Jerrell Fletcher
