Re: Haye vs Valuev Undercard announced.....

Originally Posted by
ryanman

Originally Posted by
JazMerkin

Originally Posted by
Fenster
Hmm.. not sure about that.
Calzaghe-Lacy was FREE on ITV. It had a couple of million watching at 2am (over 50% of TV sets were tuned to ITV at the time of the fight) and then bettered that on the sunday morning repeat. And was repeated again on ITV4 later in the week.
Plus Lacy was the NEW Tyson. His young unbeaten American superstar profile really helped sell that fight to the non-hardcore.
Haye-Valuev only has the heavyweight angle going for it. The fact it's PPV means it will do well to have a couple of hundred thousand watching.
If Haye wins his proflie will obviously be enhanced but I can't see it being a huge breakthrough with so few actual watchers.
I wasn't trying to say it would do the same numbers, more that a win for Haye could be a crossover like with the Lacy fight. I agree, it will be a success if a few hundred thousand watch, however, I think it has intrigued people similarly purely off the size of Valuev making him some unstoppable beast, similar to how Lacy was sold as the new Tyson.
I don't think that many people actually need to be watching for it to make Haye a star, I think if he wins, the story of him beating this giant (headline David downs Goliath) will be enough. I think its the story & the resulting media coverage that makes him a star, not the fight itself.
I declare JazMerkin to be right...as always.
Just being called "world" heavyweight champ will be a big deal to the casual, but you need to be seen to be a crossover star (Ricky Hatton is a one off).
We can judge Haye's impact with the "BBC sports personality award" betting. Calzaghe became one of the favourites, from a 100/1 shot, in 2006 after beating Lacy.
Haye is currently around 33/1 (i'm surprised he's that short, looks like punters are anticipating the win
).. so we should expect a big reduction if he wins.
3-Time SADDO PREDICTION COMP CHAMPION.
Bookmarks