Neither Showtime Event Television nor Home Box Office Pay-Per-View's competing Oct. 4 PPV-boxing events was able to stir up significant interest or business among cable and satellite fight fans.
SET's Evander Holyfield-James Toney fight drew a disappointing 150,000-175,000 buys, according to network estimates. The fight -- in which Toney stopped former four-time heavyweight champion Holyfield in the ninth round -- started at 8 p.m. EST, one hour earlier than traditional PPV-boxing events, so as not to overlap HBO's midnight start for its Erik Morales-Guty Espadas fight card.
That event -- in which Morales knocked out Espades in the third round -- garnered an anemic 50,000-55,000 buys, according to network sources.
SET’s and HBO PPV's fights retailed at suggested prices of $44.95 and $39.95, respectively.
The two fights combined fell well short of the 975,000 buys generated by the Sept. 13 Oscar De La Hoya-Shane Mosely bout.
