“I’ll Be Surprised if They Get Over a Million”: Oscar de la Hoya’s PPV Prediction for Ryan Garcia vs. Gervonta Davis Leaves Fans Speechless

As the date nears, the excitement and anxiety around what could be the year’s biggest bout seems amplifying. WBA (Regular) Lightweight champion Gervonta Davis‘s face-off against WBC Interim Lightweight champion Ryan Garcia on April 22 at T Mobile Arena in Nevada is keeping everyone on tenterhooks. Thankfully, the Beverly Hills press conference went peacefully, minus the usual shenanigans. Undoubtedly, both the boxers, in the best of their prime, offer fans and followers a match worth remembering for years to come.

It’s a fight worth every celebration. Despite the hassles, much credit goes to the organizers, who got the match through the negotiation tunnel. Fans might also remember how every update seemed like a spanner in the works. However, given both boxers’ stature and popularity, as far as the business goes, many have already adjudged the contest a clear winner.

Oscar De La Hoya: The World Awaits

So much so that bursting with confidence, former world champion and Ryan Garcia‘s promoter Oscar De La Hoya told a bunch of reporters at Palladium Times Square, “I truly feel in terms of numbers and business, I really do feel this is like Mayweather-De La Hoya. “I believe it can do – you know, people called me crazy when I said it can do two million homes – I believe it can break 2.4 million homes that me and Mayweather did. It’s that big of a fight.”

‘Boxingscene.com‘ shared his statement through its Facebook page early today. Already, over two hundred comments have flown in.

But it seems quite a few fans and followers might have a different opinion, so they chimed in with their viewpoints.

Gervonta Davis Vs. Ryan Garcia; a shot at the stars might land up on the moon as well

@Rafael Diaz de Leon differed outright with De La Hoya. According to him, from the times when “The Golden Boy” used to fight, a steady decline in the popularity of boxing has been witnessed. Hence, the PPV subscriptions may not meet the former champion’s expectations. He said, “I think Boxing was more popular back in “07” then it is today. So with that, I don’t think it will be close to that. A million to 1.5 would still be considered Great numbers.”

Read More: Mike Tyson, Canelo, & Oscar De La Hoya at Crossroads as They Predict Ryan Garcia’s Fate Against Gervonta Davis

@Nathaniel Braswell also thinks along similar lines. While the fight appears great, two million PPV purchases sound ridiculous. “Now, this will be a good exciting fight but 2mill…come on, let’s be realistic.” He said.

@Tyrone J Whitehawk would be shocked out of his wits if even a million people purchased the PPVs. While he has no intentions of discrediting the fight, the fact remains that barely anyone nowadays buys PPV, unlike how it used to be earlier. “I’ll be surprised if they get over a million. Not dawgin the fight, it’s an awesome matchup, but people just don’t buy ppv’s like they used to….” He said. 

@Robert Lowe reckoned that the Davis – Garcia fights could probably be the best fight of the year, and both young fighters have a great future in store for them. But are they that good to be pitted against some of Mayweather Jr.’s stature? He said, “This is the fight of the year by far, you could not ask for a better matchup, two undefeated aggressive scrappers, both future greats, but the question is, do you bet against Mayweather?”

@Justin Ferguson spoke plain figures. According to him, if the Davis-Garcia fight’s PPV lands in the neighborhood of half a million buys, it should be declared a runaway success. Boxers like Canelo Alvarez, Errol Spence Jr., and Gervonta Davis usually end up with 250 – 300k subscriptions. Hence, half a million would be momentous. “If they do half a million in these days of boxing, that’s a blockbuster fight. Canelo, Spence and Tank doing 250-350k buys so half a million plus is a big deal.” He said. 

Finally, @Maurice Miller said, “It’s going to do 1.25m-1.50m for sure. If Jake Paul – Fury did 775k, this should do double, if not, then boxing is dying faster than I thought.”

He probably believes it should be a reasonable 1.25 – 1.5 million PPV buys. When Jake Paul and Tommy Fury could manage 775k subscriptions, Davis-Garcia should be enormous. If it falls short, then boxing’s days are numbered.

The May 5, 2007, bout between Oscar De La Hoya and Floyd Mayweather Jr. for the WBC Super Welterweight title was the highest-grossing match of the era. While the ticket sale fetched $19 million, PPV subscriptions of nearly 2.45 million brought $136 million in the kitty. Mayweather Jr. won the match by a split decision.

Watch This Story: Boxing News Round-Up (February 27, 2023): Mike Tyson Names the ‘Current Greatest Fighter,’ Nate Diaz Targets Logan Paul, Devin Haney Predicts Davis vs. Garcia and More

What is your take on the reactions? Do share your views and opinions with us in the comments below.