The world of boxing is currently preparing for one of the most anticipated showdowns in the lightweight division. WBA (Regular) lightweight titleholder, Gervonta Davis, is set to face his longtime nemesis and the former WBC interim lightweight champion, Ryan Garcia, on April 15, 2023. Meanwhile, Davis faced Hector Luis Garcia at the Capital One Arena in Washington in preparation for the fight. And there were reports of the fight having a PPV buy rate of over 200k. However, Showtime boss, Stephen Espinoza recently refuted those claims.
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Espinoza was on a telephone interview with Chicken Tawk. In conversation, the host propositioned a game as a part of the interview. Notably, the host would give a number, and Espinoza would have to mention if his answer is higher or lower than this given number. The audio tape was posted on Twitter by a page named ‘AccordingToBoxing’.
In the same vein, the host gave the number 250,000, with a special emphasis on the PPV sales for the ‘Tank’ vs Luis Garcia fight. Espinoza responded that the number was lower than that. He further mentioned, “There was this stupid number of 61 that was going around. You know that is basically the cable number by itself. So the total number is, if you know anything, cable is a fraction. Not even close to 50 percent.”
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LOS ANGELES, CA – FEBRUARY 08: Gervonta Davis weighs in for his WBA Super Featherweight Championship fight against Hugo Ruiz (not pictured) at the The Westin Los Angeles Airport hotel on February 8, 2019, in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)
Espinoza further added, “We’re not at 200. But this was his second biggest behind ‘Rolly’ (Romero) which was his biggest.” Many notable media outlets had previously reported the numbers to be between 200k to 225k.
Fans react to Stephen Espinoza’s statement about ‘Tank’ Davis vs Hector Garcia PPV Buys
Boxing fans were confused, to say the least by Espinoza’s statement. In fact, a lot of them took to social media to share their thoughts about the same.
Now there is a sleaze ball that never trust
— Dynamite_Luis (@Dynamite_Luis) February 8, 2023
The weasel is bad for boxing. https://t.co/8HryzNgZl0
— BLAINE (@bbposada) February 8, 2023
A few fans did not mince words while expressing their distrust of Espinoza.
READ MORE – Teofimo Lopez’s Father Calls Out Gervonta Davis for Fighting ‘F*cking Nobodies’
Don't forget about the couple of youtube content creators claiming it did 366K & 400K respectfully. They also got it from some imaginary sources. 🤣
— Bold and Underdstanding (@Bold1Understand) February 8, 2023
Meanwhile, a user also shed light on YouTubers who claimed higher numbers of PPV sales.
he said the cable number is 61k but it did more worldwide
— Slim Shady (@SlimShady274) February 8, 2023
On the other hand, a fan mentioned that the fight views worldwide were higher.
If the majority of people would actually pay for ppv the numbers would be better. Every promoter dreads ppv fights because they know everyone steals the show.
— Armando B (@MondoB2) February 8, 2023
One user drew attention to the fact that people should start paying for PPVs. Rather than illegally streaming it. What are your thoughts on ‘Tank’ vs Garcia PPV sales? Let us know in the comments below.
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