Fans are critical of the decision to split the broadcast for the Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol card on October 12th from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The entire Beterbiev-Bivol undercard, headlined by Shakur Stevenson vs. Joe Cordina, will now be shown live on DAZN PPV for an unspecified price in the U.S. In contrast, the main event, the undisputed light heavyweight championship bout between the unbeaten unified 175-lb champion Beterbiev (20-0, 20 KOs) and WBA champ Bivol (23-0, 12 KOs), will be shown for free on ESPN+ for subscribers on the same night.
Fans Reject Stevenson PPV Headliner
U.S. fans are rebelling on social media, saying they feel the entire undercard, including the match between WBC lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson and Joe Cordina, is terrible and not worth paying for. The only fight Americans view as worthy to watch on the October 12th card is Beterbiev vs. Bivol, and now that’s been moved to ESPN+.
Stevenson recently signed a two-fight deal with Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing, but he’s not a PPV fighter yet, and it’s highly questionable whether he ever will be. U.S. fans on social media don’t want to see Shakur headline against the little-known 32-year-old Cordina, especially the remainder of the undercard, which they view as “Mid.”
Hearn has been blabbing about turning Shakur into a “global star.” That won’t happen because his fighting style is a dime a dozen. There are tons of runners like him who can’t draw flies and never will because fans don’t like to see that junk from fighters.
DAZN PPV on October 12th
– Shakur Stevenson vs. Joe Cordina – Headliner
– Chris Eubank Jr. vs. Kamil Szeremeta
– Fabio Wardley vs. Frazier Clarke
– Jai Opetaia vs. Jack Massey
– Ben Whitaker vs. Liam Cameron
– Skye Nicholson vs. Raven Chapman
– Mohammed Alakel vs. Jesus Gonzalez
DAZN PPV Card in Need of Overhaul
DAZN needs to find a better main event for the October 12th PPV card and bury Shakur vs. Cordina near the middle or at the bottom of the undercard. Stevenson, 27, isn’t watchable, and his opponent is terrible beyond words. Shakur is the most awful fighter to watch in the sport and shouldn’t be on PPV cards in the spot.
There’s still time to find a quality headliner for the main event for the DAZN portion of the card, so it shouldn’t be a problem.
I would place Stevenson-Cordina near the start of the card and put the quality fights at the top to interest U.S fans.
They were willing to pay before due to the Beterbiev vs. Bivol fight being the main event, but they’re interested in seeing the boring, safety-first Shakur (22-0, 10 KOs) as a headliner against former IBF super featherweight champion Cordina (17-1, 9 KOs), fresh off a knockout loss to Anthony Cacace on May 18th.
