On May 27 there was an event known as the Evening of the Year that surprised many who do not follow the stars of YouTube or Twitch, but which managed to be one of the most viewed broadcasts on Twitch. Several Youtubers decided to mount their own boxing show with a professional presentation, with federated referees and commented on by Ibai Llanos, presented by Queen Mary and with guests such as the two components of Pantomima Full.
This apparently random idea that seemed to be a joke between friends, was a success assured by the stars who participated, who gave the following matches:
- Future vs. Torete
- Mister Jägger vs ByViruzz
- Reven vs ElmiilloR
To bolster the legitimacy of the event, they brought in big names from the world of boxing like Sandor Martin, Sergio "Maravilla" Martínez, and Tinín Rodríguez. And it worked out quite well, as the stream generated over a million simultaneous viewers—a figure many national television networks would struggle to reach. According to analyst Rod Breslau, it's the second-largest single broadcast on Twitch, surpassed only by TheGref's Fortnite skin reveal.
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The success of The Evening of the Year, explained
Now, how do you explain that a million people watch boxing matches? This can be explained if we see that they have used the same technique that Vince McMahon's WWF used to attract a general public to a show considered marginal such as wrestling, using outside stars as key pieces for people to see the show. For the first edition of Wrestlemania in 1985, Mr. T, Cindy Lauper, baseball player Billy Martin, Liberace and boxer Muhammad Ali were involved as a publicity measure and to generate excitement. The importance of the stars was such that Mr. T was half of the promotional poster for that first event, and he repeated for a boxing match at the next event.
This technique of " bringing in celebrities with hobbies " to put on a show has always worked for them, as they've featured stars in every edition. At the recent Wrestlemania 37, they brought in Bad Bunny to compete in a match, with Logan Paul as a guest star. Bad Bunny was part of a storyline within the company for three months, and his t-shirt was the best-selling item for a month, contributing to increased viewership and a rise in the Latin American audience for WWE.
It is not difficult to think that in the case of those more than a million people who went to The Evening of the Year, very few were previous boxing followers and the bulk was to see youtubers whom they appreciate in an environment strange to the usual. It is the same case as the success of Critical Role and Memeverso, that many people were not fans of the role of Dragons and Dungeons, but they watch those shows because they are the voice of McCree from Overwatch, or there are Dayo, Alexelcapo, Lynx and Felipez. They are interested in seeing internet stars with whom they feel a connection in a different situation than usual and showing how they are outside of their comfort zone.
Possible future for more boxing evenings between youtubers?
The use of seven major influencers as headliners and more guests has made The Evening of the Year the second most watched stream in the world. Many youtubers have declared that they want to participate in the 2022 edition if it is done, such as Lord Draugr, Loulogio, Wall Street Wolverine, Jordi Wild, Ibai Llanos himself, Dayoscript, Mr. Cheeto ... And there could even be a female fight between Sizematters and La Hiper Actina. But it is still too early to talk about it, since they will have to calculate the expenses and if it pays to do an even larger second edition.
But it's important to keep in mind that practically the entire appeal of Ibai Llanos's "Evening of the Year" rests on the shoulders of YouTube and Twitch stars . It's not the ideal venue to include professional fighters, or at least it's not expected that the second event will be sold based on fights between professional or even registered boxers, but perhaps one or two could be included.
It could also be a completely public event, given that the entire target population in Spain should already have been vaccinated against Covid-19 . Ticket sales for such an event could generate significantly more revenue than they could earn from Twitch advertising. They could even sell it as a special event to television networks or pay-per-view services like Movistar+, FiteTV, or DAZN. This could lend it an air of legitimacy, making it seem like it's not just some crazy experiment among seven friends.
Now if a second edition is made, the participants will do everything possible to promote their fights since that would give them even more public. We can hope that for next year some of those involved will promote their fight with a simulated personality change to make people want to pay to see how they beat them in a fight. This promotion is very basic, but it is so effective that Muhammad Ali learned it from Gorgeous George, the first wrestling wrestler who had a defined character to manipulate the public and thanks to this he had to be escorted and threats kept coming. This technique helped Ali to become one of the biggest stars in boxing, and YouTube stars may turn to it to generate interest in a 2022 edition.
Although the boxing show between Youtubers is not a totally original idea. Logan Paul and KSI, both well-known YouTubers in the English language, had a rivalry that sparked professional boxing matches in 2018 and 2019. The first of those matches generated 1.300.000 sales from the event, and 1.200.000 in the event. of the second. It is clear that the technique works and its success already depends on how those involved in the second Evening of the Year at Ibai Llanos get involved to attract boxing fans as well as their native fans who are not involved in contact and combat sports.
Fights and results of the editions of La Velada del Año
The Evening of the Year (2021)
- bullfighter vs. Future. Winner: Torete
- Mr. Jägger vs. Viruzz. Winner: Mr Jagger
- ReventXz vs. elmiillor. Winner: ReventXz
The Evening of the Year II (2022)
- Carola vs. Spursito. Winner: Spursito
- Arigameplay vs Paracetamor. Winner: Arigameplay
- Viruzz vs Momo. Viruzz Winner
- Luzu vs. Lolito. Fight ended early due to an injury to Luzu.
- Mister Jägger vs. David Bustamante. Winner: Mr. Jägger
The Evening of the Year III (2023)
The Year III Gala will be held on July 1st at the Civitas Metropolitano Stadium in Madrid, formerly known as the Estadio Civitas Metropolitano. It is normally the home stadium of the Spanish team Atlético de Madrid.
- Ampeter vs. Abraham Matthew
- La Rivers vs. Marina Rivers
- Luzu vs. Fernanfloo
- ByViruzz vs. Misho
- Amoranth vs Mayichi
- Coscu vs German Garmendia
It will feature performances by Ozuna, Quevedo, Feid, Maira Becerra, Estopa and Rosario Flores.
