Alexander Krassyuk, head of K2 Promotions and CBDO of Ready To Fight, explained why the World Boxing Super Series (WBSS) failed to become a more successful and regular project.
"In boxing, it's not about money, but structure and idea. They wanted to build a football-like structure in boxing. These were people from football, not boxing. They faced the realities of boxing and lost a lot of hair, nerves, and money. Boxing doesn't work like that. The idea was colossal, brilliant. But what about the contacts? Let’s say, Mike Tyson should fight Lennox Lewis. One is 60, the other 62. Is it really doable? In theory, yes. Suppose we have $1 million. We’ll find the rest somewhere, as it's of global interest. Then we start calculating. How much will this show cost? About $20-30 million. Thankfully, we have a sponsor, an investor. But then we face reality. Tyson’s fee is $15 million, although he hasn’t boxed for a long time. Lewis wants no less. Plus, there's the undercard, promotion, tickets, fees. That’s already a minimum of $35 million. Regarding the Super Series idea – no questions there, everything is cool, all super. But there's a commercial side. Boxing is a business. And we know that you can't enter business without a quality plan, without calculation. Especially without a financial plan. No matter what business it is. If the risk level is high, it might end up like the Super Series. It can serve as an example," said Krassyuk.
The World Boxing Super Series had two seasons and tournaments in four weight categories. The winners were Oleksandr Usyk, Naoya Inoue, Josh Taylor, Mairis Briedis, and Callum Smith.