PROMOTION
Skillful promotion, according to PR industry workers, can bring an event from 10 to 50% of additional spectators in the stands, and its organizers - a solid increase in revenue. The company Kassir.ru, which, in addition to distributing tickets, provided a promotional evening of boxing, did not reach the excitement of the event to the level of a Madonna concert in Moscow, as promised, but managed to provide the show with increased interest thanks to numerous advertisements on radio, television and the Internet. What is at stake for the Maskaev-Ohello fight is not fully understood until the end, even housewives learned that these boxers would fight in Moscow on the evening of December 10.
“I’ve been in Russia for the past few weeks, and therefore I was able to see how strong the promotion was for this event,” says former boxing champion Kostya Tszyu. - But Oleg made the main advertisement for the battle without the help of PR agents, having finally earned Russian citizenship with his work and success. It was a very correct and necessary decision on the eve of his first entry into the Russian ring as a world champion. ”
TICKETS
Many could afford to go to the Olimpiyskiy and see for themselves the fight for the world title, since the price range was quite affordable - from 500 rubles to 70 thousand, and you could buy them both through the Internet and at Olimpiysky's box office. But even these figures scared away many potential spectators, since the owner of a seat cheaper than 10 thousand rubles in distant stands was at a risk of not hearing that the coaches were screaming during the fight, and not seeing Ohello during the next accurate blow of Maskaev drop out of his mouth, was very great. And without these details, any boxing loses almost half of its attractiveness to the viewer.
“I had no doubt that all boxing tickets in Moscow would be sold out, even if they cost even more,” says sports lawyer and promoter Nikolai Grammatikov. - I think that all Russian people are fighters by nature, and such a spectacular and uncompromising sport like boxing should be their favorite. In addition, it must be borne in mind that now in all countries of the former USSR, and especially in Russia, this sport is experiencing a rise in spectator interest, provoked by successful results. And every Russian fan who came to see how his compatriot beat an American, Mexican or German will rightfully feel his involvement in this success. ”
ANDERCARD
Not only the emotional uplift of the audience, but also the same initial interest in the event itself often depends on who and how will “warm up” the main participants of the evening. Before entering the ring Maskaev and Ohello, fans saw the fights of two young boxers from their Chelyabinsk - Dmitry Pirog and Mikhail Nasyrov. The first already starting round won by TKO over American Rodriguez Mongo. The second, to defeat the Canadian David Witt, required the scoring of the judges after the end of all eight rands. Also on points, another Chelyabinsk citizen, Valery Volozhenin, defeated Muscovite Pavel Melkomyan.
However, the most anticipated and spectacular undercard was the premiere at home as a professional boxer of 27-year-old heavyweight Alexander Povetkin. The Olympic champion of Athens showed a very spectacular boxing, sending the American Imam Mayfield to a spectacular knockout in the first seconds of the third round. Spectators welcomed Povetkin's boxing no less emotionally than a little later the performance of world champion Maskaev.
“I liked all our boxers who went into the ring that evening, but the level of their rivals was frankly disappointing,” says Boris Dimitrov, general manager of Box Way, a Russian promoter and manager of the WBA world champion, Nikolai Valuev. - The organizers brought the very weak guys, which is why the outcome of all the fights, with the possible exception of Nasyrov and Witt, was clear even before they ended. I’m sure this was noticed not only by me, but also by the audience, who, of course, wanted more intrigue. ”
IDENTITY
There was no doubt that the United States experience will become fundamental in determining the surroundings of the show, where standards are set in holding such professional boxing evenings. But the Russian organizers managed to contribute a considerable share of identity. So Alexander Povetkin entered the ring under the soul-composing song-songwriter Nikolai Emelin “Rus”, and the Maskaev-Ohello fight was preceded by the opera singer’s ballad about Stenka Razin, “From the island to the core”.
“When we decided what kind of music would sound before the main fights of the evening, we first of all started from the opinions of the boxers themselves,” promoter Vladimir Khryunov will explain. - As a result, Sasha chose one of his favorite author’s songs, and “Because of the island to the core”, in turn, Oleg really likes. It was important for us that this music attracted not only the audience, but also the boxers themselves, and gave them confidence. As you can see, we were not mistaken. ”
ATMOSPHERE
One of the main indicators of the success of an organized evening of boxing was to be the reaction to what is happening by the audience themselves, until spoiled by boxing at this level. And I must admit that not much of it was truly captured by what she saw and expressed her emotions. Only the chant: “Russia! Russia! ”And“ Maskaev! ”Could be called massive. Although when in the last rounds of the battle Maskaev - Ohello, a very sluggish boxing began with constant clinching, the audience did not hesitate to raise an disapproving whistle.
“I liked the way the Russian fans were worried about their boxers that evening,” says former world champion Vitali Klitschko. - Of course, they didn’t hurt like they did in America, where the audience jumped up, shouted after each series of blows and whistled, it is worth the boxers to slightly lower the pace of the fight. But for the first such serious event, I think the exam was passed successfully. The main thing is that such high-level battles should be held regularly both in Russia and in Ukraine. And then our fans, gaining experience and courage, shut up their excitement with pain for anyone’s belt. ”
Andrey IVANTSOV