Legends and YouTubers: Mark Taffet on a wake-up call for boxing

While the clamour for a Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua superfight continues, there are other events driving big pay-per-view numbers right now.

The only problem, most hardcore boxing fans will tell you, is they are not the ones they really want to see.

Ring legend fighting ring legend (Mike Tyson vs Roy Jones Jr last month), ring legend vs YouTuber (Floyd Mayweather Jr vs Logan Paul coming up in February) and now YouTuber calling out UFC star (Jake Paul and Conor McGregor). It seems there is little which is off limits in combat sports right now.

There is no better man to reflect on the crazy numbers driven by Tyson or the imminent return of Mayweather than Mark Taffet.

Now a highly successful boxing manager, with stars including P4P #1 Claressa Shields in his stable, he previously spent a quarter of a century at the helm of HBO PPV as it screened some of boxing’s biggest ever box-office events.

He sat down with furyjoshua.com to assess the current landscape, and what it means for mainstream boxing.

Mike Tyson vs Roy Jones Jr did strong PPV numbers, with Triller reporting the final figure is likely to be 1.6m buys. There are likely a number of factors here, which ones do you believe were biggest in driving that performance?

Mike is one of the most engaging athletes of all-time. There has been a fascination with his every move in and out of the ring since the 1980’s. He also used social media the past few months to convey to the public the great shape he was in and the power he was displaying even at 50+ years of age, further reiterating his larger-than-life persona. That unique “it” factor clearly drove the PPV interest.

Did you watch the event? And if so what was your verdict on it - both from a fan perspective and a business standpoint?

I actually did not watch the event live on PPV. I was disappointed with the draw verdict, and I believe fans were disappointed also… fans want an outcome, and the draw reinforced the “guest” nature of the judging which I believe takes away from the event. I would have loved to see true boxing judges scoring the fight, even as an exhibition. Perhaps that will change in the future. From a business standpoint, it points out that the entertainment quotient of PPV is becoming more and more important in PPV, which I must admit disappoints me somewhat as a longtime boxing fan and practitioner in the sport. Hopefully the promoters and networks in the sport take it as a wake-up call to provide the fights the fans want or fall a few notches on the totem pole.

There are likely to be more ‘legends’ now getting involved in events like this - Tyson vs Holyfield 3 is much talked about. Do you see that performing similarly strongly or do you think interest will wane once the novelty has worn off?

I always believe that the right matchups will always be big hits on PPV… that is what the medium was built for. Tyson vs Holyfield would do even more business than Tyson vs Jones, as there is a very natural rivalry and a history of histrionics which would drive PPV viewers to their viewing screens.

Tyson vs Jones Jr had YouTuber Jake Paul on the undercard. Now we have Floyd Mayweather Jr lined up to fight his brother Logan Paul on February 20. What is your take on that?

With all the heart and soul he has given to the fans for decades, Floyd deserves the opportunity to provide entertainment in various formats at this stage of his career. The beauty of PPV is that fans vote with their devices and remotes, and pay for what they choose to pay for. I believe Floyd vs Logan would be a PPV success; but as a boxing match, Floyd will beat Logan at the moment he decides he wants to pick up the pace or bring the match to conclusion in the same way he did so with Conor McGregor. Floyd is that good.

Mayweather vs Paul has an interesting PPV pricing model with stepped payment windows (starting at $24.99 for the first 1 million, then gradually increasing). Do you think that is smart or not?

I think that pricing model is evolutionary and reflective of the capabilities of the technology. There is a lot of appeal to that pricing model, especially when the buyers come more from a broader, more diverse set of demographics than pure boxing matches. It is a consumer-friendly and consumer-savvy pricing model.

By the time Floyd and Logan fight, we’ll have seen just about anything. Bar a man fighting a woman. Your stable star Claressa Shields has been vocal in saying she’d KO Jake Paul. Do you foresee events like that happening in the future?

I think you have to be very very careful and smart about the form of future events. Claressa is the GWOAT, but I respect the “W” and do not believe I am qualified to properly assess whether a man vs woman matchup in combat sports makes sense.

The whole celebrities fighting angle makes you feel like Celebrity Deathmatch was 20 years ahead of its time. Does this tell us more about boxing in 2020, or society?

There is a difference between boxing for entertainment and boxing in a professional setting. There is a difference between exhibitions and full-out matches. As long as the proposition to the public is communicated properly, and the proper sanctioning and approvals are garnered and taken seriously given the risks of combat sports, I have no problem with it as a form of entertainment. Entrepreneurs will always pursue what they think will work as a business proposition; and true boxing fans will always want their “true” boxing as long as the best fight the best.

How much of a challenge do these events mean for mainstream boxing? Is it something that should really worry managers and fighters?

I think promoters and networks in the sport of professional boxing need to work harder to overcome some of the idiosyncratic obstacles and false borders that prevent the best from fighting the best on a regular basis. If they don’t, they will fall down on the ladder of consumer choice.

There has been much talk of the impact no live gates have had on boxing at elite level. We haven’t had anybody really quantify that. You worked on some of the biggest fights ever but never without a live gate. What sort of percentage/impact did that gate generally bring to the overall promotion?

On the biggest megafights, the gate often exceeded $10,000,000 and reached multiples of that a few times. The gate on big fights can add 20% or more to the overall revenue stream so it is an important, material factor. But the marketplace dictates reality, and in a prolonged COVID period, fights still need to be made or consumer interest will wade. I suggest that, like the NFL/NBA/MLB have done, the march goes on and the best compete against the best regardless of the times.