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Fans can once again expect to pay a premium price to watch unified WBC/IBF welterweight titlist Errol Spence.
The latest Pay-Per-View headliner is far more incentivized for consumers.
BoxingScene.com has confirmed that a standard retail price of $74.99 has been set for the April 16 Showtime PPV, headlined by the WBC/IBF/WBA welterweight title unification bout between Spence and Yordenis Ugas (27-4, 12KOs) at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The price is in line with Spence’s three previous PPV headliners versus Danny Garcia ($74.99), Shawn Porter ($69.99) and Mikey Garcia ($74.99).
Unlike the other three shows, Spence-Ugas includes a promotion offered by PPV.com (https://www.ppv.com/events/spencejrvsugas), the main online source to order the premium event. Fans who order through the iNDEMAND -established platform will be automatically entered in a sweepstakes where the grand prize winner will receive two tickets, airfare and hotel for the 2022 PPV event of their choice.
“We’re looking for ways to bring PPV events to life for our viewers,” Marc Boccardi, senior vice president of programming and marketing for PPV.com told BoxingScene.com.
Spence-Ugas is one of six PPV events from April 1 through May 28 to be carried by PPV.com, which was launched in December 2021 by iNDEMAND—a partnership between leading cable companies Charter Communications, Comcast Cable, and Cox Communications. The decision to offer an online option came out of necessity though also with the acknowledgement of making it easier for consumers to purchase PPV events.
“We wanted to make it as simple as possible,” noted Boccardi. “PPV.com – it’s an easy name to remember, and straight to the point.”
At least five of the six major events on the current PPV.com schedule come with a promotion. Three of the six shows are available on sports streaming service DAZN. The PPV option is for fans who are either leery of committing to a DAZN subscription or simply unaware of how to access the app. All three shows—Gennadiy Golovkin-Ryota Murata (April 9), Ryan Garcia-Emmanuel Tagoe (April 9), Katie Taylor-Amanda Serrano (April 30)—will include one-month free subscription to DAZN, with such coupon code normally offered within a week of the purchased event.
Spence-Ugas is distributed and produced by Showtime. A recent online press conference hosted by Showtime Sports sports & event programming president Stephen Espinoza announced Spence-Ugas as one of nine events to fly under the network banner, and one of two Showtime-branded PPV events.
Espinoza fielded a question during the presser of whether either event would include any sport of promotion such as a free month of Showtime. The longtime network executive noted past promotions along those lines, while revealing the decision to instead offer more content on fight night itself. The four-fight PPV event will be preceded by a Showtime-televised doubleheader, to include the WBA ‘World’ welterweight title fight between defending secondary titleholder Radzhab Butaev (14-0, 11KOs) and unbeaten challenger Eimantas Stanionis (13-0, 9KOs). The winner of the fight will be the WBA mandatory challenger to whomever prevails between Spence and Ugas.
To watch both, fans will have to both subscribe to Showtime and purchase the PPV event itself. The latter now comes with the opportunity to attend a future show for free. Additionally, consumers who pre-order Spence-Ugas by April 10 will be automatically entered in a sweepstakes where two winners will receive a boxing glove autographed by Spence.
Spence-Ugas and all PPV.com events also include a feature that enables fans to create personalized, interactive experiences during the event, including interacting with other fans, posting comments, and uploading video selfies.
“We aim to bring extra value to our viewers in terms of content, interactivity, and value,” states Boccardi. “Whether it’s by attending a big-name event in person; winning a signed glove by one of the biggest names in boxing; or by participating in our hosted, interactive live chats during all of our PPV events.”
Spence—a 32-year-old southpaw from Desoto, Texas who represented the U.S. in the 2012 London Olympics—will attempt the sixth defense of the IBF welterweight title he claimed in a May 2017 knockout win over Kell Brook on the road in Sheffield, England. It will also mark Spence’s second unified WBC/IBF title defense, having achieved that status in a twelve-round win over Shawn Porter in their thrilling September 2019 unification bout.
The fight is the first for Spence since December 2020, when he outpointed former two-division titlist Danny Garcia at AT&T Stadium, which will also host the April 16 Showtime PPV event.
Ugas attempts his second WBA welterweight title defense. The 35-year-old Cuban boxer—who won a bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics—claimed a secondary version of the title in a twelve-round win over Abel Ramos in September 2020, receiving an upgrade to WBA ‘Super’ champion last January. Ugas validated his reign in a competitive but clear points win over legendary Manny Pacquiao, replacing an injured Spence atop the August 21 Fox Sports PPV from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox