What Will Be the Impact of Boxing's Return to Network TV?
It had the bright lights, star power and pizazz you generally associate with most high-end productions, and a pair of quality fights to boot, but can Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions series continue to draw once the novelty wears off?
That’s an important question, given the boatloads of time and money invested by Haymon and his network partners—which include heavyweights CBS/Showtime, NBC and Spike TV among others—and the need for the sport to generate mainstream attention.
That second part becomes particularly critical with the rapidly approaching close of the Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao era, which will finally be settled with a superfight on May 2 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
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Early returns on the show were generally positive, and per TV by the Numbers (h/t BoxingScene.com), it led the crucial 18-49-year-old demographic while averaging 3.13 million viewers.
Sure, there were a few hiccups, but nothing that would qualify as a deal-breaker, yet.
The ring walks were too short, making a half-hearted attempt to capture the more individualized and cinematic approach often seen in Europe, but the absence of any effects—fireworks, lighting—ensured they’d come up short.
The 360-degree camera, which promised to give fans an unprecedented view of the action in the ring, didn’t have a great night, failing to capture the biggest moment of the evening in Round 9 when Keith Thurman put Robert Guerrero on the mat.
Marv Albert was unfortunately rusty and added little to the broadcast, other than by lending his name.
Al Michaels, on the other hand, kept bringing it. His presence lent both credibility and an understanding of the sport. The same can be said for Sugar Ray Leonard.
BJ Flores? Yes.
Laila Ali? Not so much.
What about the fights themselves?
Adrien Broner did what he needed to do in order to win—and he said exactly that over boos in his post-fight comments—but his fight with John Molina Jr. was anything but spectacular.
Say what you will about Broner, but Molina was the unquestioned reason this fight stunk up the joint. It’s entirely possible that his bloody war with Lucas Matthysse took it all out of him, but whatever the reason, the guy just didn’t want to fight.
You can’t fault Broner for that, and on paper at least, this seemed like an interesting clash of styles that could’ve produced fireworks. It didn’t, but poor timing or not, that type of thing happens.
Luckily, Thurman and Guerrero more than made up for the failure of Broner vs. Molina by engaging in one of the most compelling and lopsided fights you’ll ever have the pleasure of running your eyes across.
Thurman clearly has the goods.
He can box, punch, move and talk like a big star, and the way he handled the tough-as-nails Guerrero was truly impressive for a fighter that had a lackluster 2014.
All those people who jumped off a ship they believed was sinking will be awfully surprised to see it pull into the dock.
And what about Guerrero?
He showed some serious toughness in winning a war against Yoshihiro Kamegai last summer, but what he took from Thurman without wilting and continuing to fight back was the plot of a Rocky movie.
That fight brought some serious momentum to the show, and it’s a good thing it did.
If you switched over to NBC Sports Network to see a fighter who looked a lot like Abner Mares but performed like an empty shell of him take on an anonymous, light-hitting opponent, you might’ve fallen asleep.
PBC takes its next shot at prime-time television on April 4, with a light heavyweight showdown between Adonis Stevenson and Sakio Bika on CBS.
The 175-pound champion is known as a knockout puncher, but his challenger is awkward, tricky and at times, downright ugly to watch.
Then an April 11 doubleheader back on NBC headlined by Danny Garcia and Lamont Peterson in a slightly disappointing catchweight bout with no belts on the line.
Andy Lee’s first defense of the WBO middleweight title against former champion Peter Quillin, who vacated but didn’t lose the belt, will be the co-feature.
Again, on paper, both fights are significant, but neither provides the type of can’t-miss excitement that you want to move the needle when showcasing boxing to the masses.
Garcia vs. Peterson is a high-level fight between a pair of world-class operators at the top of the 140-pound division—though it will be at a welterweight catchweight fight.
It’s the type of fight that established boxing fans want to see, though it lacks appeal for future and potential fans.
But could it turn into the type of technical snore-fest that forces people to scramble for the remote control?
Yes, it could.
Lee vs. Quillin doesn’t seem to suffer from that problem. “Irish” Andy and Kid Chocolate are both known for freely dispensing with the sweet science in favor of the sweet sounds of leather landing at frequent intervals.
There’s a fair bit of upside here, yes, but boxing is and always will be the theater of the absurd.
Stevenson-Bika, Garcia-Peterson and Lee-Quillin could all be dynamite, exciting bouts that attract and keep fans captivated. In short, they could be exactly what we’re all looking for in showcasing the sport to a wider audience.
Or they could be Broner-Molina.
Even worse, they could be Mares vs. anonymous opponent.
Nobody can dispute that the concept of bringing boxing back to the mainstream, including all the frills, was, is and forever will be a noble and worthwhile endeavor.
PBC hit one out of the park on Saturday night with Thurman's coming-out party and Guerrero's gutsy display, but it pounded another one into the dirt for an easy groundout.
In fairness, that’s probably to be expected.
Nobody said it would be easy, and it won’t be—especially when the new-car smell wears off.
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