Gervonta Davis vs. Frank Martin, MGM Grand, Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, wasn’t the biggest attraction of 2024, but it did way better than what Rick Glaser predicted! Yep, you read that right—the controversial boxing insider had previously claimed the Davis headlining fight wouldn’t do more than 200,000 PPV buys.
However, according to a report from boxing journalist Dan Rafael, the 15th June fight managed to collect 325,000 to 350,000 pay-per-view buys across all platforms it was available on in the United States. Yet, Glaser, a certified PBC hater, has refused to believe these numbers are real. Instead, he has branded the entire thing PBC propaganda on X today!
Gervonta Davis, Leonard Ellerbe named PBC operatives
After Rafael broke the news, talkSport editor Michael Benson shared it across the X-verse, writing, “Gervonta Davis vs Frank Martin reportedly did ‘between 325,000 and 350,000’ USA PPV buys”. And you guessed it! Glaser found this piece of news floating around on the platform, contradicting what he had said before about the PPV numbers for the fight.
via Getty
So, he quickly countered the numbers, writing, “This is hilarious, it didn’t even hit 150,000 buys!!! More #PBC propaganda being floated to the media by PBC operatives like #LeonardEllerbe. #TankDavis #Baltimore #Boxing”. It’s also worth mentioning that even though the event was part of PBC’s deal with Amazon Prime, it was available for viewing on traditional television and satellite services and digitally on PPV.com.
Interestingly, if Rafael’s sources are right about the 350K PPV buys, the event, which sold for $74.95, would gross more than $26 million. So when the fans discovered Glaser’s utter denial to the new numbers, let’s just say they had something to say to him.
Rick Glaser pressed for anti-PBC propaganda
Glaser has been critical of PBC’s every move, he even claimed a while ago that the promotion is close to going under, but no proof of that exists. So, with his latest jab at the promotion, came a lot of antagonizing comments from fans. One user didn’t mince his words, calling out Glaser for potentially “lying” and “capping”. Yet, Rick is adamant about his low-PPV claims for the fight.
Or you got caught lying and capping 😂😂😂😂😂😂
— Mar (@Mar38124076) July 1, 2024
Someone else pressed Glaser to reveal his sources for his bold claim, suggesting he sounds absurd. The thing is, if he does reveal his sources, he won’t get his insights from them anymore.
Expose your source … Now Ur sounding like a dumbass🤣
— TheChange (@LETSBEREALnfl) July 1, 2024
Another user countered Glaser’s claim about it all being PBC propaganda by suggesting Glaser is spreading anti-PBC propaganda. This just goes to show how much the sport of boxing has turned into politics.
If they’re pushing “PBC Propaganda”, that would mean you’re pushing “Anti PBC Propaganda”….
Let’s call a spade a spade.
— Sub-Zero 🏁 (@YallMustaForgot) July 1, 2024
The next user questioned whether even Benson was a PBC operative, sarcastically taking a jibe at Glaser. But Glaser responded, claiming Rafael is the real culprit, Benson was just reporting the news.
So @MichaelBensonn is a PBC operative now? Wow! Who knew!! Smh
— Keyz2dagameboxing (@Keyz2dagame) July 1, 2024
Meanwhile, this user perfectly summarized how casual fans and boxing promoters feel about the whole situation. What did the fan say? Well, the user said, no one cares! But the amount of traction Glaser’s tweet got says otherwise.
Gervonta Davis’ last outing was his seventh conductive pay-per-view event since his first in 2020, which is his second most-successful after the spectacle with Ryan Garcia last year. But the question now is, who is right—Glaser or Rafael? And what would Rafael gain by presenting false numbers?
