In this week’s mailbag, we tackle your thoughts on whether the price tag for this weekend’s pay-per-view featuring Gervonta “Tank” Davis against Lamont Roach Jnr is worth it.

We also hear what you had to say following last weekend’s eventful pay-per-view, including your takes on whether Dmitry Bivol should have a rubber match with Artur Beterbiev next or take on David Benavidez instead; Agit Kabayel earning a shot at the heavyweight champion; how Callum Smith and Joseph Parker have rebounded and are back in the picture at light heavyweight and heavyweight, respectively; and how good Vergil Ortiz Jnr looked in his win over Israil Madrimov.

Want to be featured in the mailbag? Comment or ask a question in the comments section below. Submissions may be edited for length and clarity. We also may select readers’ comments from other BoxingScene stories.

PPV PRICE TOO HIGH FOR GERVONTA DAVIS-LAMONT ROACH JNR 

Hmm, $25.99 for the loaded card last Saturday, and $79.95 for this boo-boo card this Saturday. What’s wrong with this picture?  

-SUBZER0ED

Eric Raskin’s response: I wrote about this very topic (“Pay-per-views, price points and price counterpoints”) heading into February, because, yeah, it was impossible not to notice the price disparity. Former HBO Pay-Per-View boss Mark Taffet put forth the argument that PPVs are often enjoyed in large groups, and as such, split six or eight ways, $79.95 is no big deal. He also expressed that the $25.99 price point made sense for the Riyadh card because an afternoon card, rather than an evening card, isn’t necessarily conducive to a large PPV party.

The latter point is a matter of lifestyle; I had a bigger crowd for last Saturday’s show than I get for most Saturday night PPVs. Also, while PPV carriers may like to think boxing fans are getting together with their friends to watch, undoubtedly many fans don’t have local friends who love boxing and are forced to decide whether to pay the $80 by themselves.

One thing PBC consultant Stephen Espinoza told me for the article that seems valid and important is that PBC doesn’t have access to big network license fees at the moment, so the only way the David Benavidez-David Morrell card or the Gervonta Davis-Lamont Roach card can happen is by asking customers to pay for it.

Yes, something is wrong with this picture. The better, deeper card shouldn’t cost $54 less than what you term “this boo-boo card.” You may feel one is overpriced. At present, the Saudi General Entertainment Authority has the leeway to put on boxing cards with no regard for profitability, which leads to a card some may see as underpriced.

All I can tell boxing fans is to enjoy the opportunity to watch boxing inexpensively when it comes along, and to skip the cards you don’t feel are worth the cost. Oh, and hope that the sport doesn’t end up with something akin to the UFC near-monopoly model, because if that happens, the rug of affordability could be pulled out at any moment.

ARTUR BETERBIEV IS TOO OLD, BRING IN NEW BLOOD TO FACE DMITRY BIVOL

Beterbiev no longer has it anymore. He is slow and can’t hang with guys that are fast. Bivol vs. David Benavidez makes more sense now. Forget Benavidez against Saul “Canelo” Alvarez. Let Benavidez attempt to take on and beat the guy that beat Canelo. Do something that Canelo failed to do. 

-Lance98

Kieran Mulvaney’s response: Dude, seriously? Beterbiev dropped a majority decision, the first loss of his professional career, in an excellent fight against a fellow future Hall-of-Famer, the same man he narrowly overcame just a few months ago. And so, just like that, he’s done?

Would it be surprising if Beterbiev is slowing down at age 40? No. Could it happen overnight, especially at his age? Absolutely. I do happen to agree with you that Bivol-Benavidez makes for a more attractive option now, not least because we haven't seen it before, and I agree it’s more likely that Bivol wins a decider with Beterbiev. But come on, man. If you really watched Saturday’s fight and came away thinking you were watching someone who no longer has it, I don’t know what else to say.

WILL DAVID BENAVIDEZ BE FORCED TO WAIT FOR DMITRY BIVOL?

I don’t necessarily care to watch a third Bivol-Beterbiev fight, but I get why it makes sense. The only issue is that there seems to be a lingering possibility, a very likely scenario where if Benavidez does not get the next shot at Bivol, then he is not getting that shot for at least a year and a half and will be pushed to the back of the line again and again. If Bivol fights Beterviev closer to the end of 2025, and should he win it, then it just seems like other mandatory fights – with people no one really cares to see, if we are being honest – along with Canelo are going to jump the line. 

-Tails

Kieran Mulvaney’s response: I agree with you. I actually would be more than fine with a third fight between Beterbiev and Bivol, although I would pick Bivol to win, but I do think Bivol-Benavidez is the fight to see now. Benavidez, to his immense credit, has acknowledged that he may have to look elsewhere at first if the other two complete a trilogy – and his father told BoxingScene his son would be interested in meeting Callum Snith should that eventuality unfold. But as you say, that would mean Benavidez waiting yet longer for a big fight, after several years of being forced to kick his heels and wait for Canelo. He deserves the opportunity.

AGIT KABAYEL DESERVES A SHOT AT OLEKSANDR USYK

Agit Kabayel isn’t getting the attention he deserves. His demolition of Zhilei Zhang, compared to Joseph Parker surviving and out-gassing the big fella, bears no comparison. I’d like to see Oleksandr Usyk vs. Kabayel next, with the rescheduled Daniel Dubois-Parker fight on the undercard. Both Kabayel and Parker get their title shots, and it sets up undisputed nicely for the fall or winter. I think also that Usyk has Dubois’ number.  

-Bob

Lucas Ketelle’s response: Kabayel will never get the attention unless he beats big-name fighters. Why? Because nothing about what he does is glamorous. He weaponizes a pace and makes big men fight at a speed they don’t want to. Kabayel is a blue-collar fighter outhustling bigger fighters.

As for the proposed fights of Kabayel-Usyk and Dubois-Parker, it makes sense, but Kabayel is the biggest risk with the lowest reward in the division. Usyk is one of the best heavyweights ever and the greatest modern heavyweight, so it seems far-fetched that he would take on the riskiest opponent who also garners the fewest eyeballs. Another scenario I would like to discuss is Usyk-Parker and Dubois-Kabayel. It rewards both Kabayel and Parker for big wins while making interesting matchups.

CALLUM SMITH AND JOSEPH PARKER HAVE REBOUNDED 

I wrote Callum Smith off after the John Ryder and Canelo fights. I figured he’d given us all he had to offer after winning the World Boxing Super Series and was prepared to wish him a happy retirement. But he showed he still has that dog in him, and I’m glad to admit I was wrong. I also wrote off Joseph Parker after the awful showings he had against Anthony Joshua, Alex Leapai and Junior Fa, among others. But he just kept on swinging, and now he’s the most credible challenger for the heavyweight championship of the world. Very cool to see.  

-famicommander

Tom Ivers’ response: I also made the foolish mistake of thinking Callum Smith was on the slide. I remember Smith visiting my amateur club when I was younger. He’d just knocked out George Groves and was showing us his new, shiny belts. I thought that the vicious and spiteful Smith I met that day was a thing of the past, but I was very wrong. 

Smith is still nowhere near as good as he was, and it shows how special he was in his prime that he is still able to defeat a fighter of Joshua Buatsi’s class, even at this stage of his career. It looks as though Smith will probably be upgraded to the full WBO titleholder, as I can’t see Dmitry Bivol defending his title against him. If that happens, Smith will finish his career as a two-weight world titleholder and one of the best fighters to come out of Britain in the last 20 years.

On Joseph Parker-Martin Bakole, I was one of the few who thought that fight was a mismatch under the circumstances. It was a prime example of why fighters need to be protected from themselves. Bakole should not have been allowed to fight a top operator like Parker with no training camp. I’d edge Bakole if both men were fit, but hats off to Parker. I expected him to beat Bakole, but I didn’t expect him to do it that emphatically and that quickly. He really does deserve a title shot next, and I hope Daniel Dubois gives him the chance again.

BACK ON THE VERGIL ORTIZ JNR HYPE TRAIN AFTER ISRAIL MADRIMOV WIN

Freaking pumped about Vergil Ortiz. The subtle changes in his strategy, the defense and the patience! Bring on more big fights for him. A lot of dudes trashed him in 2024, talking about one dimension. I am not labeling him another Naoya Inoue yet, but he has the goods!!  

-Cyborg Fangerloo

Owen Lewis’ response: I’m right with you. I was of two minds following Ortiz’s thrilling win in August over Serhii Bohachuk – Ortiz showed grit and a relentless barrage of power shots; he also went the distance for the first time against a fighter who had already been stopped, and was sloppy enough to allow Bohachuk to score two flash knockdowns. A good win, but evidence of plenty of mortality. 

Ortiz’s defeat of Israil Madrimov last week has me much higher on the 26-year-old American. Though it took a while for him to get to Madrimov, I never felt he was meaningfully behind. Don’t let Ortiz’s marked-up face fool you; he didn’t let the inactive Madrimov land much clean offense. And in the back half of the fight, Ortiz had moments in which he beat the crap out of Madrimov in a way that Terence “Bud” Crawford never did. 

Look, there are ways to explain that without dissing Crawford’s resume as some are so prone to doing — Bud’s win over Madrimov probably informed Ortiz’s gameplan to an extent; Ortiz is the naturally bigger guy; Ortiz is 26 years old while Crawford was 36 when he fought Madrimov. But beating an opponent more convincingly than a top-three pound-for-pounder must feel damn good. 

Like you, I won’t classify Ortiz as an all-time-great right now, but he does seem live against anybody in and around 154lbs, and he’s cracked the bottom of my pound-for-pound list after the Madrimov win. I’d love to see him against Jaron “Boots” Ennis next, or against Bakhram Murtazaliev, as my colleague David Greisman floated last week. But Ortiz vs. anyone is now just about guaranteed entertainment. 

Want to be featured in the mailbag? Comment or ask a question in the comments section below. Submissions may be edited for length and clarity. We also may select readers’ comments from other BoxingScene stories.