Bob Arum Doesn’t Think Davis vs. Santa Cruz Will Draw On PPV

Top Rank Boxing’s Bob Arum isn’t sold on Gervonta Davis vs. Leo Santa Cruz being a PPV draw during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Davis vs. Santa Cruz is set to take place this Saturday night, October 31. Davis vs. Santa Cruz will headline a Showtime Boxing PPV. Davis’ WBA (Regular) Lightweight Title will be on the line, while Santa Cruz’s WBA (Super) Super-Featherweight Title is at stake.

Top Rank is running an event that same night. That card will be headlined by a bantamweight title fight between WBA (Super) and IBF Champion Naoya Inoue and Jason Moloney. It’ll air on ESPN+. In the co-headliner, Ewa Brodnicka will put her WBO Super-Featherweight Title on the line against Mikaela Mayer.

Arum recently discussed the Davis vs. Santa Cruz pay-per-view. While Arum has nothing against either fighter, he simply isn’t convinced that they can draw well in the pandemic era (h/t Bad Left Hook).

“Ours, you do have to be a subscriber. They are gonna do no business. It’s not because it’s not a good fight, but asking people to pay that during the pandemic, it’s ridiculous. The only way pay-per-view works, for forever, is when you can get a bunch of people over your house.”

Floyd Mayweather has made it clear that he hopes Davis can step up and take that mantle of being boxing’s top PPV draw. Those are considered to be lofty expectations given that Mayweather is the top PPV attraction in boxing history and we’re in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis.