Frank Warren claims that Tyson Fury vs. Dillian Whyte made more money on BT Sport Box Office than Anthony Joshua vs. Oleksandr Usyk on Sky Sports Box Office
Frank Warren has claimed that the viewership for Tyson Fury vs. Dillian Whyte surpassed that of Anthony Joshua vs. Oleksandr Usyk.
The Fury-Whyte fight sold 94,000 tickets at London's Wembley Stadium on April 23. Meanwhile, the Joshua-Usyk bout took place at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on September 25 last year and sold over 60,000 tickets.
Exact viewing figures are not available. However, it is suggested that Joshua vs. Usyk reached around 700,000. The event was also the joint-costliest pay-per-view fight at £24.95.
During an interview with iFL TV, Warren was asked about the pay-per-view figures for Fury vs. Whyte, to which he responded:
"Well, I'll tell you this, somebody told me that Eddie Hearn did an interview talking about the numbers for [Oleksandr] Usyk and [Anthony] Joshua. Well, we did much better than that [700k]."
When asked if he could give an exact figure for the fight, the Queensberry Promotions owner replied:
"No, I can't, but we did much better than [Joshua vs. Usyk]. We certainly did much better at the gate and did much better than that on pay-per-view... I'm happy with where it's at. I'm happy but we're never happy. I want to see it do two million buys. I mean, that's what it is, but it's done extremely well and we've put a record purse bid up for it and we've come out making money, that's what the objective was."
Watch Warren's interview here:
Why did Tyson Fury vs. Dillian Whyte have higher success than Anthony Joshua vs. Oleksandr Usyk?
A key factor in the Fury-Whyte fight's success is that the event was showcased at the iconic Wembley Stadium, which is home to some of the biggest events in the UK. The fight was also an all-British clash for the WBC Heavyweight Title.
Oleksandr Usyk is a huge name in boxing and is considered one of the sport's best pound-for-pound fighters. However, to the general public in the UK, he's not as big of a name as Whyte or Fury.
Joshua is a huge asset and a pay-per-view star, but Fury is arguably more of a global star in boxing. 'The Gypsy King' made his return to fighting in his home country for the first time in around four years. Prior to his showcase at Wembley Stadium, he had been headlining events in America.
Watch Tyson Fury vs. Dillian Whyte here: