One thing we try to do is keep away from the world of boxing outside of Asia, whilst we obviously follow the goings on around the world we don't really want to spend too much time and effort talking about it. This week however has got us feeling that we might as well offer our 2 cents on an event that was expected to do massive numbers but now looks set to flop after due to some horrifically short sighted marketing by those involved, and an almost lazy mentality.
On Saturday night in the US DAZN will show the rematch between Logan Paul and KSI, two Youtubers with massive followings, who had a genuinely huge white collar event in 2018. The hope was seemingly for Eddie Hearn and DAZN to piggy back on the fame of the two Youtube stars, and get the huge followings from the two men to cross over to DAZN. It was a good idea on paper, and one many backed strongly. Afterall everything Eddie Hearn touches turns to gold, right? What those involved didn't seem to realise was that things aren't as simple as simply putting things on and thinking a full market will move it's self from one thing to another. The Youtube scene, which Paul and KSI are genuinely massive on, is a scene that has massive market penetration. You can ask anyone on the street if they know what "Youtube" is and the odds are that the vast, vast majority will tell you. If you did the same with "DAZN" you'd get blank looks, people looking confused and thinking you'd misspoke, maybe even sneezed. Likewise while KSI and Logan Paul are big on Youtube, the actual reality is that they aren't really big names outside of Youtube. The average person on the street won't be interested in watching two people they've never heard of fight on a service they aren't even aware of. That essentially left the market for the KSI Vs Logan Paul rematch limited to boxing fans and to subscribers of the two men. The boxing fan base have been massively critical of the fight, and whilst we suspect plenty will tune in, after all we're all a bit like addicts and will complain about a fight but watch it just to get our fix, that market is already sealed in to DAZN. There won't be a sudden boom in boxing fans tuning in especially for the show, especially given that ESPN are also broadcasting a show of their own on the same night via their ESPN+ service. That leaves us with the subscriber base of the two fighters. This is a market place that DAZN was expecting to tap into. Getting just 1% of their combined 40,000,000 Youtube subscribers to give DAZN a shot would mean a boost of 400,000 subscribers. However not all that subscriber base is in the US, or even in other DAZN markets. For example KSI is big in the UK, where DAZN doesn't offer a service, and we'll get back to KSI's UK fans in a moment. When you consider that none-DAZN market we then need to realise that 1% of what's left of the subscriber base is actually not very large at all. When we also consider that two men tend to appeal to teenagers we come to two more issues. Firstly the tech savvy teenagers who follow the two men are the ones who know how to stream things illegally, they are also not cash rich. They are the ones who know how to get what they want for free online, rather than shilling out the $20 for a one off month of DAZN, or the annual subscription for the service. It's even more noteworthy that much of the market place that DAZN is aiming for isn't even legally able to become a service user, as per their own terms and conditions: "10. Age Restriction You must be the older of 18 years of age (or over), or the age of majority in your state, province or territory of residence, to become a user of the DAZN Service." So they were essentially expecting a cross over from a mass market product, Youtube, to a niche market with no market penetration, DAZN, which doesn't even allowed the target market to access it. If that's not ridiculously short sighted then we really don't know what is. Oh we mentioned we were going to go back to KSI's UK audience. They, as mentioned, don't get to access the DAZN service, and instead get the bout on a 1-off PPV for £9.95 if purchased before midnight on Friday (today), after that it will depend on how it's booked. When you realise that the main bout will be shown well after midnight in the UK they have again destroyed the chance of their own target market paying. Yes it's a "cheaper" PPV than normal but the target audience is teenagers, not adults with cash to spend. Like DAZN that same target audience isn't even allowed to purchase the bout officially, with Sky Box office stating: "Who can sign up? Anyone aged 18 or over living in the UK (including the Isle of Man and Channel Islands) and Republic of Ireland." Now we'll admit the first bout between the two men did amazingly well, selling out the MEN arena in Manchester and did impressive PPV numbers, at a very reduced 1-off fee on Youtube. That was however targeting the market that knew the men, on at peak time in the UK. It was affordable, it was on a platform that knew and understood the participants and was on at the best time for the US and UK audiences of the "fighters". It was also done without greedy middle man publicly looking to cash in. It was, or at least felt, organic. This rematch feels like it's lost that identity and tried to prey on two different markets that either can't, or won't, back it. We would love for this to be a genuine success, and attract a new, young, audience to boxing. In reality however we get the strong feeling it's set to be one of boxing's biggest marketing mishaps in recent memory, and it appears very much like those behind the event have failed to identify the audience they needed to appeal to. Sadly we're not sure whether we'll ever find out if we are right or wrong here, given DAZN's secrecy, but we would be massively surprised if DAZN saw a massive and medium to long term boost in their viewing figures off this one event.
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Sometimes it can be tricky to get a read on a young fighter who hasn't signed with a major promoter and is fighting in relatively obscure shows, however every so often one such fighters turns out to be a diamond in the rough. We're hoping that this week's introducing may be about one such fighter, Toshiki Kawamitsu (3-0). The unbeaten 24 year old is a really obscure prospect, even by typical Japanese standards, but he looks like he certainly has something about him.
The youngster, originally from Okinawa, hasn't got one of those mega strong amateur pedigrees we usually see with Japanese prospects we get excited about but Kawamitsu certainly has a stronger amateur background than many would suspect. He was ranked #9 in Japan in 2013 at Light Flyweight. Not great by it's self but the men above him included Shokichi Iwata (the champion), Takuma Inoue (#1), current multi-weight world champion Kosei Tanaka (#2), the very highly regarded Seiya Tsutsumi (#3) and current amateur star Tomoya Tsuboi (#7). The depth in that division in 2013 was just insane. Notably he was coming through the amateur ranks from the same geographical area as Daigo Higa, with both being promising fighters in Okinawa, from what we could find both went to the same high school and were in the same year. Notably both had to go through similar struggles and both managed to have success despite those struggles. Unlike Higa, who turned professional in 2014 at the age of 18, Kawamitsu didn't rush to the professional ranks, instead he turned professional in November 2018, when he was 23. He also didn't show the ferocious power that made Higa such a must watch coming through the ranks. What he did show early on however was a gritty determination, a fun style, with a combination of technical ability and exciting battling. In his debut, last November, Kawamitsu defeated Junichi Itoga in a bloody bout, which ended 20 seconds early with a technical decision. Accidental headclashes had left Itoga's face streaming with blood and he was way behind when the bout was stopped, with Kawamitsu seeming to find a new gear during the round anyway. Sadly none of Kawamitsu's following fights have been made available, though his debut is available on Boxing Raise, however shut out wins over Yasushi Handa and Kosuke Fukuda have seem him build his record to 3-0. With no footage of his last two bouts being available we're looking forward to November 9th when Kawamitsu will fight on the Dangan card featuring the semi-finals of the God's Left Tournament. This should be a great chance to see what Kawamitsu has learned in the last year, and how his aggressive style holds up against Yuni Takada in an 8 round bout. We suspect he'll be too good for Takada, but how he looks here, in his first step up, will be really important going forward. November is very much a top heavy month, starting with pretty the best of what we're going to be getting. Despite there is some solid action in the second week of the month, thanks to a fantastic Dangan card. November 9th Taiki Minamoto (16-5-1, 13) Vs Takuya Watanabe (36-9-1, 21) - Tokyo, Japan This part of the month has a sensational Japanese Super Featherweight title eliminator as former Japanese Featherweight champion Taiki Minamoto takes on the always tough Takuya Watanabe. The hard hitting Minamoto moved up in weight earlier this year, after defending the Featherweight title against Reiya Abe, and will be hoping his concussive power carries up to Super Featherweight. For Watanabe another loss here will likely end his hopes if ever becoming a Japanese champion, but given his style and toughness he certainly has a chance against Minamoto. Seiya Tsutsumi (5-0, 4) Vs Kenya Yamashita (14-5, 11) - Tokyo, Japan A potentially thrilling God's Left Bantamweight tournament semi-final will see the unbeaten Seiya Tsutsumi take on the much more experienced Kenya Yamashita in a bout we're expecting to be short and explosive. Both of these men throw bombs, both are aggressive and exciting and both come to fight. It's worth noting that this will be Tsutsumi's first bout since transferring to the Kadoebi gym though we don't expect them to have tempered his aggressive mentality. Jin Minamide (4-0, 3) Vs Kuzuki Nakajima (7-0, 6) - Tokyo, Japan The second God's Left Bantamweight tournament semi-final will be a clash of unbeaten men as the explosive pairing of Jin Minamide and Kazuki Nakajima clash. Both of these men solid amateurs and have been destructive professional fighters so far in their career's. Although Nakajima is the more experienced of the two we feel that Minamide is the more accomplished, and he answered a number of real questions against Tetsu Araki in his tournament quarter final bout. Expect this to be a highly skilled, big hitting war. November 10th Alie Laurel (16-4-1, 10) vs Ernesto Saulong (22-5-2, 9) III - Gumaca, Philppinee An all Filipino bout for the WBO Oriental Super Bantamweight title will see Alie Laurel take on Ernesto Saulong in a very interesting clash, though one at a sub regional title level. Notably this will be the third clash between the two men, with Sualong having won the first two, and this is supposed to be the final clash between the two Pinoy pugilists. West Japan Rookie of Year finals- Osaka, Japan Exactly 1 week after the East Japan Rookie of Year finals we get the West Japan Rookie of the Year finals. As with the show a week earlier we're expect a lot of great action as fighters compete for the chance to become the All Japan Rookie of the Year in December. This is set to be a great card for emerging young fighters, and we would suggest every fight fan keeps an eye on this show, even if the bouts won't be televised until the following week. November 14th Mercito Gesta (32-3-2, 17) Vs Carlos Morales (19-4-3, 8) - California, USA Former world title challenger Mercito Gesta was upset last time out, when he was stopped by Juan Antonio Rodriguez, suffering his first stoppage loss. Now the 32 year old Filipino is pretty much in the last chance saloon, and another loss would almost certainly spell the end for the southpaw. Morales isn't particularly well known but the 29 year old will know that a win over Gesta will put his name on the map, and although he's the under-dog he is a very, very live fighter here, following competitive bouts with Rene Alvarado and Ryan Garcia. Gesta might be expecting a win here, but we certainly wouldn't be surprised if Morales had too much for him here. This past week was a busy week, without being a huge week, it was an interesting week, without being a banner week. It was the type of week where the little fights were allowed to shine, and one of the big talking points was what we didn't get, rather than what we did get.
With the IBF Super Flyweight title bout between Jerwin Ancajas (31-1-2, 21) and Jonathan Javier Rodriguez (21-1, 15) falling through late on we did miss out on world title action but we did still get a lot of good stuff! Fighter of the Week Hironobu Matsunaga (16-1, 10) One of the strangest categories this week was the Fight of the Week. There was no huge bout, and the bigger bouts saw Asian fighters losing, an often losing in rather disappointing fashion. As a result we had to dig a little deeper than we'd have hoped for out Fighter of the Week, though we did get a deserving winner, with Japanese Light Middleweight champion Hironobu Matsunaga successfully defending his title in a thrilling win over Koki Koshikawa. Matsunaga had to dig deep, work hard and ended up showing what he could do, in what was the biggest win by an Asian fighter this past week. Performance of the Week Akio Furutani (8-4, 3) It's nice to get the chance to highlight someone who wouldn't have gotten a mention in a bigger week, and with Akio Furutani this is likely the only time he will ever be mentioned in one of our award articles. The unheralded fighter put in the best performance of his career to upset former OPBF Flyweight champion Keisuke Nakayama. From the opening round to the last minute Furutani came forward, coming to fight and Nakayama really had no answer for the aggression of Furutani over the 8 round schedule. A great and very unexpected performance from 21 year old, who has now won 4 in a row following a loss in the 2018 Rookie of the Year competition. Fight Hironobu Matsunaga Vs Koki Koshikawa The weekend's Dynamic Glove card was, overall, a disappointment, but one bout really stood out. That was the 4 round war for the Japanese Light Middleweight title. In one corner was the 32 year old champion, a diminutive figure, in the other corner was former amateur stand out Koki Koshikawa. From the off this set off at an amazing pace, and swung one way, then the other, in what was a really thrilling fight. It was a bit one sided by the time of the stoppage, but up to that point it had been great, with both showing their heart and will to win, and both getting through some sticky moment. A real gem on a card that lacked to quality action. Round Hironobu Matsunaga Vs Koki Koshikawa (2) We go back to our Fight of the week for our Round of the week, and what a great, great round this was. The first round for the Japanese Light Middleweight title bout between Hironobu Matsunaga and Koki Koshikawa was great but the second was even better. By now Matsunaga had began to find his groove, pressing the fight and forcing Koshikawa to respond in a round that was back and forth, exciting, and had power shots from both. This wasn't always pretty, but tense and the final 30 seconds or so really raised the roof as both looked to leave an impression on the judges. This won't go down as a Round of the Year contender, but was a brilliant and exciting round, from a fantastic fight. KO Tatsuya Tsuge TKO3 Kyota Shinya Although we had a lot of fights, and we mean a lot, we didn't get many KO's during the week, at least no clean ones. Thankfully this lead to us finding the wonderful, and very hidden uppercut uppercut finish from Tatsuya Tsuge, who stopped Kyota Shinya on a Dangan 4 round show. Whilst Shinya wasn't out cold or anything this was still a beauty to see. Tsuge landed a brilliant left uppercut that turned Shinya's lights off, before a follow up right hand clipped him on his way down. For Boxing Raise subscribers this one is worth looking for. Prospect Yudai Shigeoka (1-0, 1) The debuting Yudai Shigeoka may not have looked flawless in his 2nd round win over Thai visitor Manop Audomphanawari but he did impress with a real beating of the Thai. It seemed, for the most part, that Shigeoka only fought in the first couple of gears, and even that was impressive, especially with his body shots. We'll admit we were more impressed when his brother, Ginjiro Shigeoka, made his debut but this was still an excellent showing from a genuine elite level prospect. Upcoming fight Naoya Inoue (18-0, 16) vs Nonito Donaire (40-5, 26) It was never going to be anything else, was it? The WBSS Bantamweight final between Naoya Inoue and Nonito Donaire is one of the most anticipated bouts of 2019 and it takes place this coming Thursday from the Saitama Super Arrena. The bout will potentially enhance Inoue's status as a modern great even further, or cap off a legendary career for Donaire. We're expecting fire works, an incredible atmosphere and something big here. Easily the one fight to keep an eye on this coming up this week! |
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