Why boxing chumps move the needle more than champs

The Age

2 days ago

Tim Tszyu and Jai Opetaia, potentially both world champions by the end of the weekend, are Australia's best boxers.
Both have had to lean on Paul Gallen at various stages of their career for relevance locally. When Tszyu and Gallen fought on the same night, the stories about the former footballer generated more clicks. For the purists, it's an indictment of the fight game, that a footballer can attract more attention than genuine pugilists competing against the world's best.
However, that's the harsh reality in a celebrity-obsessed age, where punters would rather fork out $70 to watch two footbrawlers than a genuine championship bout.
Gallen's controversial split-decision win against Sonny Bill Williams at Qudos Bank Arena on Wednesday night lasted just 16 minutes, but lined their pockets with paydays of up to $1 million each. In their pomp as professional footballers on the field, it would take an entire season to earn as much.
The event was shown exclusively on Stan which, like this masthead, is owned by Nine Entertainment. The pay-per-view sales remain a heavily guarded secret, but the early indications suggest it was a success.
​'This was a massive moment,' said Stan's director of sport Ben Kimber. 'Two giants of Australian sport, a decade of talk, and it all exploded on Stan Pay-Per-View.'
Sport thrives on controversy and Wiliams and Gallen brought bucketloads into their grudge match. Nobody sells quite like the Cronulla captain, who has leant into his role as the pantomime villain in much the way Anthony Mundine did before him.
People love a circus and are prepared to pay for admission. Which is why the Mike Tyson-Jake Paul 'fight' became the most streamed event in sporting history, attracting 108 million viewers on Netflix.