(11-28-2016, 07:10 PM)diehard Wrote: Opinion: Duco's PPV price for the Joseph Parker fight is spot-on

By Mike Angove

Mike Angove is a former world kickboxing champion and Sky Sport NZ's expert boxing analyst.

So Duco has settled on a pay-per-view (PPV) price, and in my opinion $59.95 for an historic world boxing title fight in New Zealand is pretty damn good, all things considered.

Though public opinion has shifted in understanding the massive cost of staging an event of this scale in New Zealand, it's inevitable the usual naysayers will recycle arguments from Christmases past against the PPV pricing.

So let's take a rational look at these in the light of day.

Whine number one: "I could watch Pacquiao-Mayweather for $49.95."

We need to understand we're not really comparing apples with apples.

New Zealand is a country of 4.4 million people, and economies of scale means the cost of staging the event is dispersed over many more millions of viewing eyeballs in markets like the US, UK or China than it is in godzone.

In other words, when we want to eat cake made in New Zealand, we have to pay more for it.

The other aspect which hasn't been highlighted enough, is that boxing remains a blue-collar sport, and while white-collar New Zealand and political players are keen to enjoy the spoils of the event at the corporate table, they're far less keen to associate their brand with such a 'brutal endeavour' when it comes to sponsorship.

Consequently, in the absence of the substantial sponsorship and broadcast deals enjoyed by more acceptable sports, blue-collar punters in effect become individual sponsors via the PPV model.

Whine number two: "The undercard's a joke."

Regardless of what you may think of past cards, this card is legit - four regional title belts, including the WBO heavyweight crown, six fighters ranked inside the world top 10, two more inside the top 15, plus the next Kiwi heavyweight hope: Junior Fa'a.

On a broader note, as someone who's been openly critical in the past of the appearance of celebrities and rugby players fighting on professional boxing PPV cards in Australasia, there is a balance to consider between commercial pragmatism and boxing idealism.

In perfect world, a market with a larger population where the boxing fanbase is substantial enough to produce a profitable promotion would negate the need for celebrity or novelty bouts, but New Zealand with its small population base requires a more mainstream appeal to hit the break-even or better mark.

Whine number three: "Duco are ripping us off to make millions so they can sail off in their yachts to the Amalfi coast."

This is very much a misconception.

Over the course of developing Parker to this point, you can guarantee Duco has lost a fair bit of cash in some shows and made money in others. Parker, the product right now, is a loss-leader.

This is a long game, with the big payoff coming with lucrative future overseas bouts looking to unify the titles.

But with that comes astronomical risk: Parker loses this fight and that pot of gold falls dramatically out of reach for another 18 months to two years of rebuilding.

Remember the financial outlay for this show is a record $4.2 million.

Also consider that with the PPV model, that risk remains literally until the 11th hour. The vast majority of PPV buys are made on the day of the event, and about 80 percent of that comes in the final two hours.

It's highly likely Duco won't even know if it's taken a massive bath or made money until 24 or 48 hours after the event.

Now if you are a Duco hater you might think, "Screw them, it serves them right if they lose money." If that's the case, as Floyd Mayweather Snr said, "You don't know s**t about boxing."

That attitude would have us return to the bad old days in the back halls and pubs, where fighters fought for $100 a round and Australian promoters paid a pittance for Kiwis to fight, overmatched and on short notice.

This is where boxing in New Zealand was pre Duco's David Tua vs Shane Cameron's 'Fight of the Century'.

The landscape would be very different without Duco putting their gonads on the chopping block and backing Parker, and that is why I'm willing to part with $59.95 on December 10, and I hope they make enough money to continue to reinvest into boxing in New Zealand.