An upset, a contested outcome, then an expected outcome, albeit still questionable. That’s how the August 3 Terence Crawford–Israil Madrimov headline show narrative emerged. With three title clashes and other high-profile bouts, it turned out to be one of the year’s biggest events. Okay, so the coffers must have been filled to the brim. One might think in all the right sense. No, it may not be the case entirely.

Certain reports have emerged; based on the information received through sources, they claim that the Crawford-Madrimov fight may not have done so well in the pay-per-view department. The telecast services were provided by DAZN, ESPN+, and Prime Video. It was the first boxing event orchestrated by His Excellency Turki Alalshikh under the auspices of Riyadh Season to be held outside Saudi Arabia. The next big one under the banner will follow up on September 21 at the Wembley Stadium. Let’s check what this particular talk about the PPV is going on.

Terence Crawford vs. Israil Madrimov: Where’s the money?

Director-producer Jed I. Goodman shared a tweet. It featured a quote from a piece, a veteran combat sports journalist, Kevin Iole wrote. It read, “The Crawford-Madrimov card in Los Angeles last week, the first Riyadh Season event put on by the Saudis in the U.S., likely lost more than $10M, several sources told KevinIole.com. The pay-per-view sales were negligible.”

In relation to pay-per-view, the story available on the 2007 Nat Fleischer Award recipient’s portal discusses the challenges faced while selling the services. Other reports also mention quite a few reasons behind the BMO Stadium show falling short on finances. They cited Israil Madrimov’s relative anonymity, the perceived lack of a major co-main fight, and the decision to hold the fights away from a well-known location like Las Vegas, among many others.

But then it’s worth highlighting that the claim hasn’t been accepted by everyone. One of the primary voices that has an objection to the PPV loss notion is eminent boxing insider Rick Glaser. Since the numbers haven’t been revealed in their entirety, there is some point in Rick Glaser’s contention to Iole’s report. Getting back to the Kevin Iole report, the NYBHOF inductee said, “#KevinIole talking negatively about the financials associated with @Turki_alalshikh‘s #RiyadhSeason PPV event featuring the best fighter in the world, @TerenceCrawford.“

Across the river

He criticized Kevin Iole for his apparent lack of knowledge of “boxing financials”. Glaser said that perhaps the journalist hasn’t come to grasp the kind of impact the Riyadh Season has had on the boxing world. According to the boxing insider, Iole’s influence might be restricted to North America alone. He shouldn’t bother himself with the commercial aspects of the sport. It would do Kevin Iole better to direct his attention on the boxing reporting, he said. Later, Rick Glaser expressed his support for His Excellency Turki Alalshikh for the kind work he has been doing for boxing. He also extolled Terence Crawford for his stellar achievements.

It should be highlighted that usually, it takes roughly ten days to two weeks for a clear picture of the PV buyouts and the overall business success of the event to surface. As of now, the major talking point is one of Terence Crawford’s next courses of action. Whether he should chase Canelo Alvarez or drop the idea? The new light middleweight champion cited that if the ‘money is right’ then the option still remains viable for him. But then, given the subsequent discourse that occurred and the statements from HE Alalshikh and Alvarez, the chances of the megafight appear minimal, at least for the time being.

The Mexican icon is going to enter the ring one month from now. Given the hype surrounding the fight, will that exceed the Terence Crawford-Israil Madrimov card? Now that is a litmus test it might have to go through, and fans will be keenly watching out.

What is your take on the claims regarding the Crawford-Madrimov PPV status?