Eddie Hearn follows up on Dana White's comments over Jake Paul's fight cancelation being due to poor ticket sales
After Jake Paul vs. Hasim Rahman Jr. was officially canceled, many people within the fight industry have voiced their opinions on the matter.
It was stated that the event was called off due to Rahman Jr. being unable to reach the agreed-upon weight limit, with a request to increase the cap rejected by Paul's team.
'The Problem Child' has openly gone back and forth with UFC president Dana White since his entrance to boxing. Following the fight's cancelation, White expressed his thoughts on why the event was scrapped.
During a recent press conference, the UFC chief said:
"I think they sold under $1 million in tickets and it costs $500,000 to turn the f***ing lights on at MSG. That’s what I think. Not to mention hotel rooms in New York and transportation is very expensive."
Watch Dana White's comments in the video below:
Matchroom boxing promoter Eddie Hearn shared a similar sentiment to White during a live Q&A on his Instagram account. Hearn was asked about the cancelation of the event and White's theory, to which he replied:
"He wouldn't have known about pay-per-view sales, but tickets weren't going great to be fair."
Catch Hearn's comments in the post below:
Why would ticket sales and pay-per-view numbers be a problem for Jake Paul vs. Hasim Rahman Jr.?
Jake Paul is a huge name who draws a lot of attention and viewing figures. However, to star at Madison Square Garden in a fighter's sixth fight is a huge financial risk. 'The Garden' is one of the most historic stages of boxing and is usually the host for many great and momentous bouts.
Paul's opponent, Rahman Jr., was mostly unknown to the majority of fans until the announcement that he'd fight the YouTube star. Hence, the headliner may not have been a real selling point.
To further this, the 12-1 boxer revealed that he wasn't going to be earning any additional fees for selling the matchup, which meant that he didn't have to promote as much as Paul.
Ultimately, the pay-per-view prices didn't benefit the event either as Paul was charging $59.99. This is a significant sum for fans to pay to watch Jake Paul in action for his sixth outing, with the only other notable name on the card being Amanda Serrano.
The PPV price was also heavily criticized by Paul's rival and UK YouTuber KSI, who laughed off the figure on social media.
$60 PPV 💀💀💀💀💀💀
I PROMISE you all that my PPV this August 27th will be less than that 😂😂😂 https://t.co/x5noIbtG69