Tyson Fury vs Deontay Wilder: Eddie Hearn labels PPV figures for heavyweight title fight as ‘absolutely abysmal’
Promoter claims there were only 300,000 pay-per views buys for the match in Los Angeles which was controversially ruled a draw
Eddie Hearn has labelled the 300,000 pay-per views buys for the Deontay vs Tyson Fury fight as “abysmal.”
Fury was denied arguably the greatest comeback in sporting history when his WBC heavyweight title fight against Deontay Wilder in Los Angeles was controversially ruled a draw.
Fury outboxed Wilder for the vast majority of the fight - despite being knocked down to the canvas twice.
The WBC have since voted unanimously in favour of sanctioning an immediate rematch between the pair.
The heavyweight showdown was broadcasted on Showtime Sports in the US and BT Sport in the UK, with both networks charging a PPV price for the showdown.
And Hearn has slammed the “absolutely terrible” viewing figures for the fight, with Fury only fighting on PPV for just the second time of his career.
The Gypsy King’s famous unification win against Wladimir Klitschko in November 2015 was broadcast live on Sky Sports.
Hearn said: “To do 300,000 buys is terrible, absolutely terrible. 300,000 is absolutely abysmal.
“Dillian Whyte against Joseph Parker did more than 300,000 buys in England.
“I mean we're talking about across the US. You can't say it's good. Canelo (Alvarez) and (Gennady) Golovkin have just done 1.2 million and they're middleweights.”
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Hearn now says that there is now a clearer pathway to set up a Joshua vs Wilder showdown – after talks broke down earlier this year – owing to the latter’s performance last weekend.
He added: “It’s now easier to make the Wilder fight vs other circumstances.
“So if Wilder would have won devastatingly, he would have been a f***ing nightmare.
“Everyone thought he lost so he drew and although his stock has gone up because he is well-known, it's not like he was this phenomenon he made out he was.”