Yahoo Cagewriter found a nice interview with a pay-per-view distributor who talked about the UFC and boxing. The interview comes from Philly.com and has some brutal quotes... if you're in the business of boxing, that is. Joe Hand, a PPV distributor had this, among other things, to say about UFC and boxing competition:
"People ask, 'Do you think UFC will kill boxing?' " Hand said. "It already has. Boxing's dead.
"Look, the next [Floyd] Mayweather fight [Sept. 19, against Juan Manuel Marquez] is the same night as UFC 103. Does that make any sense?
"If you own a sports bar and you can buy a UFC event for $1,000, and you know you're going to pack the place, why would you buy the Mayweather fight for $2,200 and not do as well?"
Hand, 72, still sells boxing's bigger fights to about 40 sports bars and restaurants in the Delaware Valley, and up to 3,500 nationwide and in American territories as far-flung as Guam. But, increasingly, boxing constitutes a smaller portion of his business, and UFC makes up for, and surpasses, whatever he has lost in boxing.
And:
"Over the course of a year, we might do three big boxing matches, tops," Hand said. "UFC is running every month. And a year in advance, I know the date and site of those shows.
"When I go to sell [UFC] in a bar or a restaurant, they understand they're going to get 3 hours of entertainment. Every fight is a great fight. Most boxing promoters, they'll put on a good main event. But you might not find out who's on the undercard until the last minute, and then it's usually junk. The undercard is not important to them."