Leonard Ellerbe Gives A Twitter Masterclass On PPV vs. Streaming

Now that Canelo Alvarez is on top of the boxing hierarchy, many people have an opinion on how he does business.

Although his fight against Billy Joe Saunders yielded the largest in-venue turnout since the pandemic at over 70,000 spectators at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas; the fight was not a pay-per-view but was instead streamed on DAZN.

However, Leonard Ellerbe, CEO of Mayweather Promotions, and one-third of the triumvirate that made Floyd Mayweather, Jr. the most profitable athlete in history, voiced his opinion on Canelo’s moves.

After orchestrating six of the top ten highest-grossing pay-per-views of all time, Ellerbe understands the boxing business.

So his surprise at Canelo Alvarez’s decision take a flat fee for his co-promoted events with Matchroom Boxing on the DAZN streaming platform is understandable.

Ellerbe along with boxing mega advisor Al Haymon and superstar athlete, Floyd Mayweather, Jr. own the top four highest grossing pay-per-view boxing events of all time.

Mayweather vs. Pacquiao, Mayweather vs. McGregor, Mayweather vs. Canelo Alvarez, and Mayweather vs. Oscar De La Hoya generated as high as 4.6 million and 2.48 million buys respectively.

The numbers place no ceiling on earning potential, and with Canelo Alvarez now the most famous active professional boxer in the world, why he is sticking with a deal capped at a certain fee is baffling.

After dismantling Billy Joe Saunders to become the unified super middleweight world champion, Canleo Albatez now eyes IBF super middleweight Caleb Plant in a hunt to become to the first-ever undisputed super middleweight champion.

Plant, who is with Premier Boxing Champions, might have some leverage in negotiating as he is the only man standing in Canelo’s way. In addition, the deals Al Haymon has with Showtime PPV might be attractive to a newly freed Canelo Alvarez.

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