If this doesn’t prove how big British boxing could be on free-to-air TV, nothing will.
Back in the day you could watch British boxing’s finest fighters free on terrestrial TV until pay-per-view took over.
But David Haye’s comeback in the heavyweight division has proved that boxing could be huge on free TV.
Several million fans watched the Haymaker’s comeback live on Dave where he knocked out Australian heavyeight Mark De Mori out in one round – including 100,000 people who live streamed it on YouTube.
But the 36-year-old’s follow-up fight has again broken viewing records on Dave.
The audience for Haye’s merciless one-round destruction of Kosovan Arnold Gjergjaj peaked at an incredible 2.5m.
The London fighter, who is a former two-weight world champ, finished Gjergjaj inside one round at a sell-out 02 Arena.
https://twitter.com/AgainstTRopes/status/734131932519403520?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
But the huge number of TV viewers for the Haye Day II show saw Dave win a 14.8 per cent audience share, beating both ITV and C4 and second only to BBC1 on a massive day for sport.
It has proved to be Dave’s greatest ever day for viewing figures.
Haye said: “After the record breaking success of January’s show, Dave was the natural destination for Haye Day II.
Haye Day is more than a boxing show, it provides a night of entertainment appealing to the masses.
You only have to look ringside to see it is a different crowd. On Saturday Hollywood stars sat ringside including; Paul Anderson (The Revenant), Sophie Turner (Game of Thrones) and Mark Strong (Sherlock Holmes).
“Even Jose Mourinho couldn’t miss the show when the world’s media were desperate to speak to him.”
“The numbers prove there is huge demand for boxing in the UK.”
Shannon Briggs secures a first round KO win against Emilio Ezequiel Zarate.#HayeDayhttps://t.co/n1lB7PkjKz
— Betfred (@Betfred) May 21, 2016
Haye’s win means a tasty fight with American Shannon Briggs is now on the cards for September.
Briggs, who is also a former world champion, won his fight on the undercard with a routine first round KO.
It is yet to be announced whether Dave have the rights to the Haye vs Briggs fight.
