By Gilbert Manzano

The highly anticipated streaming bout between Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Daniel Jacobs takes place Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Hold up. Streaming bout? That doesn’t sound right.

How about blockbuster bout? No, that can’t be it. Blockbusters are a thing of the past. 

Nor can it be a pay-per-view bout because those type of fights are dead, according to Golden Boy Promotions CEO Oscar De La Hoya.

If this was pre-2019, Alvarez-Jacobs would likely be on PPV with a hefty price tag of $79.99, or $69.99 in standard definition for those still purchasing movies from the last Blockbuster in Bend, Oregon.

De La Hoya and Alvarez got ahead of the curve when they shifted away from the usual PPV format after signing with streaming service DAZN last year. But the jury is still out on if they jumped ship too soon.

DAZN loaded up on boxing’s biggest stars by signing Alvarez, unified heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua and most recently former middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin.

Alvarez and Joshua have each fought once on the streaming platform, but Saturday will be DAZN’s most important night since launching in the U.S. late last year.

De La Hoya is confident the compelling Alvarez-Jacobs bout will gain DAZN many subscribers to make up for the money they would have gained if it were on PPV.  DAZN recently raised its monthly fee from $9.99 to $19.99, and also offers an annual charge of $99.99.

“Remember back in the day when NBC or CBS would televise the biggest fights in boxing, including Muhammad Ali and all the major events, and then people were confused after a while, ‘What’s this pay-per-view stuff? Why do I have to pay $30, $40?’” De La Hoya told krikya360.com. “And now it’s up to $100. So now we come to the new age, where pay per view is no longer alive because you have streaming services like DAZN.” 

Despite De La Hoya’s comments, pay-per-view fights still exist in boxing. Showtime PPV had Manny Pacquiao-Adrien Broner in January and FOX’s first PPV was Errol Spence Jr.-Mikey Garcia in March.

Top Rank and ESPN have something similar to DAZN by streaming fights on their ESPN+ app. But they too are still in the PPV business. Terence Crawford’s sixth-round technical knockout against Amir Khan in April was on PPV.

With Golden Boy Promotions’ competitors still charging PPV prices for their biggest bouts, De La Hoya said that will help DAZN’s cause come Saturday night.

“It’s a learning process, but people get it,” De La Hoya said about streaming fights. “When DAZN signed Canelo, when DAZN signed Anthony Joshua and Triple G, what other network or streaming services has the best talent? DAZN does. For boxing, DAZN is the destination and people are getting used to it. People know the best fights are going to happen on DAZN.”