STEVE’S SOAPBOX created their own dates outside of HBO or Showtime. Cedric Kushner had his “Heavyweight Explosion” franchise that was used to develop his stable of big men and put wins in them before they got called up for more lucrative assignments. “We did the smaller pay-per-views as a cost-saving mechanism, particularly when we had a long-term fighter contract, not long-term promoter contracts, and you owed particular fights,” explained DiBella. “Quite frankly, there were some fights that we didn’t want to put on HBO that we put on pay-per-view for a fairly low pay-per-view price to basically recoup as much money as we could. We abandoned the concept that people would continue to buy pay-per-view out of habit, because, guess what? “People don’t continually buy pay- per-view out of habit.” When it comes to pay-per-view, success isn’t just about the quality of the fight but just how familiar the names on the marquee are to the public at large. As Bob Arum once said to me about this: “You gotta have stars.” Holyfield-Foreman did boffo numbers, while Toney-McCallum I was something that only the diehard fans of the sport consumed. Again, names matter. You wonder, as we head into 2026 with Canelo in the sunset of his career, is there anyone out there who can carry the mantle as a pay-per-view franchise? Out of curiosity, I looked up just how many major pay-per-views were distributed by HBO from 2006 to 2008, a time when the network was still a force within the sport. In both 2006 and 2007, they had nine cards on pay- per-view, and seven in 2008. But that era had established stars like Oscar De La Hoya, Floyd Mayweather Jr., Manny Pacquiao, Miguel Cotto, Marco Antonio Barrera, Erik Morales, Roy Jones Jr., Felix Trinidad, Shane Mosley, Bernard Hopkins and Fernando Vargas. Does the current landscape have this many boxers who are even nominally known to the casual fan?
Will DAZN provide Lopez vs. Stevenson- level PPV shows each month?
2006 HBO PPV Jan. 21 ������� Manny Pacquiao vs. Erik Morales II Feb. 25������� Shane Mosley vs. Fernando Vargas April 8 �������� Floyd Mayweather vs. Zab Judah May 6 ��������� Oscar De La Hoya vs. Ricardo Mayorga June 10 ������ Antonio Tarver vs. Bernard Hopkins July 15 ������� Shane Mosley vs. Fernando Vargas II Aug. 12 ������ Hasim Rahman vs. Oleg Maskaev II Sept. 16������ Marco Antonio Barrera vs. Rocky Juarez II Nov. 18 ������� Manny Pacquiao vs. Erik Morales III 2007 March 17���� Marco Antonio Barrera vs. Juan Manuel Marquez May 5��������� Oscar De La Hoya vs. Floyd Mayweather June 9�������� Miguel Cotto vs. Zab Judah July 21 ������� Bernard Hopkins vs. Winky Wright Oct. 6 ��������� Manny Pacquiao vs. Marco Antonio Barrera II Nov. 10 ������� Miguel Cotto vs. Shane Mosley Dec. 8 �������� Floyd Mayweather vs. Ricky Hatton 2008 Jan. 19 ������� Roy Jones vs. Felix Trinidad Feb. 16 ������� Kelly Pavlik vs. Jermain Taylor II March 15���� Manny Pacquiao vs. Juan Manuel Marquez II June 28������ Manny Pacquiao vs. David Diaz July 26 ������� Antonio Margarito vs. Miguel Cotto Sept. 13������ Joel Casamayor vs. Juan Manuel Marquez Oct. 18 ������� Kelly Pavlik vs. Bernard Hopkins Nov. 8��������� Joe Calzaghe vs. Roy Jones Dec. 6 �������� Oscar De La Hoya vs. Manny Pacquiao
The official announcement for Teofimo Lopez-Shakur Stevenson was released in early December. The grudge match is scheduled for January 31 in New York. It’s safe to assume that this will be a DAZN pay-per-view. If that is the case, it’s a solid start to this plan. There is also the much talked-about showdown between Jaron Ennis and Vergil Ortiz, which could take place in the spring of 2026. The question is: Can DAZN sustain this level of quality? Are there 12 pay- per-view-worthy bouts a year in the current landscape? “I don’t think there’s six,” was DiBella’s retort. “I’m not kidding. I don’t think there’s six. You see, a pay-per-view should be capable of generating enough eyeballs to be substantial, right?” It’s a fair question. Are we going to get a regular dose of Lopez-Stevenson and Ennis-Ortiz, or will more fights like Moses Itauma-Dillian Whyte and Joseph Parker-Fabio Wardley be foisted upon us and dressed up as pay-per-view cards? For better or worse, pay-per-view is alive and here to stay. “[DAZN] said they killed it – and became Dr. Frankenstein,” quipped DiBella. “What is going on? With all due respect, that’s just stupidity.”
18 RINGMAGAZINE.COM
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