Friday Fight Night

[dondada]

I think the concept is brilliant. The TV money should guarantee a half decent bill topper at least. It gives fight fans something to look forward to most weeks.

But there have been complaints and cancellations (or threats of) aplenty. I'm sure we would all agree that you can't have great bills all the time. But what has gone wrong? Or is it being unfairly criticised?

It would be great if someone on here could do a run down of what's been on this season (inc undercard highlights) and say which bills were sh1t and which were good. Would also be interesting to compare promoters' efforts on there.

Personally, I'm fecking sick of the Commonwealth belt being abused. The two shittest words this season - 'mystery African'.

[Poncey]

The issues are many.

A Promoter has started to use a belt to allow title fights against unknown foreign fighters.

Mr Smith has not backed his promise of British title fights against the two best fighters in the division. Rankings anyone?!

The TV station has allowed the best fights to be placed on a show that requires you to pay extra, inconsequential of whether you already subscribe to their station.

They have overused the Prizefighter tournament to the point that it's now devalued.

At the end of the match tonight I'm canceling. MoTD will have to do.

[DG.]

The only people getting any value out of FFN are the promoters.

Cancelled SKY SPORTS a while back - it's not worth paying for.

[stujones]

alot less frequent also. it seems amazing that Sky have acquired the contract of the promoter with the biggest stable (apparently) and lost the contract of another promoter.... and now they cannot show FNF on a weekly basis.

Lots of factors are involved...... although one that I think has been overlooked is Barry Hearn's lack of involvement in non prize fighter bills.

[yogi]

I might get shot down for this but I think it's about time that the amateur & pro bodies got together. I go to, on average, 3 - 4 am shows per month and the standard of some of the bouts is outstanding. The difference for these guys is every fight is a title fight, no journeymen. This may bring the standard of bouts up.

The way I see it you would have to have a strict ratio to avoid certain promoters from taking the piss. I reckon that two 3x2 ams for every 6x2 pro fight would be about right. If the pro fight got pulled it couldn't just be replaced with a couple of amateurs.

Apparently setanta are showing the aba finals next friday, should be good.

[ERIC GUY]

yeah Setanta are doing the ABA finals, I am doing the 1/4s and semis

[jspain]

this is what sky have broadcast so far this year. i've included the saturday night showing of skelton v rogan and the olympians where because sky only showed 2 hours they did not show 2 fights that they would have had as a friday fight night main event any other time.

firstly they mostly follow the same fomat with 1 main event (10 or 12 rounds) and then undercards varying of 8 , 6 and 4 rounders. some of the undercard fights would have rounds missing.

Friday 17 January

Promoter - Barry Hearn

Paul Trusscott v John Simpson W 8 rd stoppage
Undercard
Crris Burton W Pts v Ivor Marinchev 8 rds Heavyweight
Troy James (debut) W PTS v Frederic Gosset 4 rds light welter
Stuart Hall W 2nd rd stoppage v Nick Seeger 4 rds featherweight
Gavin Reid v W PTS Bismarck Alfaro showed 8 rds - showed rds 5,6,8

24th January

Promoter Frank Maloney

Chris Edwards W 4th round v Wayne Bloy
Undercard
Ashley Sexton W 2nd rd v Fikret Kurdov 8 rds super bantam
Larry Olubamiwo W 2nd rd v Mihai Iftode 4 rds Heavyweight
Scott Miller W PTS v Tomasz Mazurkiewicz 6 rds welterweight (potential fight of the year according to dave clark)
paul edwards W PTS v elemir rafael 4 rds super bantem
Jon Lewis Dickonson W PTS v John Anthony 4 rds cruiserweight

would we have got to see any of the scott miller fight if the main event and the ashley sexton fight had both gone the distance?

30th January

Promoter - FW

Kell Brook W 2nd rd v Stuart Elwell
Undercard
Richard Horton v Tony Salam W 4th rd 10 Super Middle - Vacant British Southern Area Title
Liam Walsh W 1st rd v Shaun Walton 4 Featherweight
Denton Vassell W 3rd rd v Matt Scriven 6 Light Middle
Derek Chisora W PTS v Daniel Peret 8 Heavyweight
Vinny Mitchell W PTS v Robin Deakin 4 Super Feather

February

6th February

Promoter - Barry Hearn

Rob Norton W PTS v David Dolan - 5 KD's
Undercard
Dean Harrison W PTS v László Komjáthi 8 Light Welter
Young Mutley W PTS 6 Gatis Skuja 6 Light-Welterweight

13th Feb

Promoter - FW

Nathan Cleverly W 1st rd v Onyango (spelling?)
Undercard
Jamie Cox W 1st rd v Jason Rushton 8 rounds light middle
Marlon Reid W 3rd rd v Sherman Alleyne 4 rounds super middle
Chris Higgs W PTS v Sid Razak 4 rounds light welter
Barrie Jones W PTS v Jay Morris 4 rounds welter
Dean Francis D v Joey Vegas 8 Light-Heavyweight (2nd or 3rd main fight was on 5th started 3rd round , showed 3rd , 4th , 5th , 7th and 8th

why show 3 four rounders before the dean francis fight?

20 Feb

Promoter Barry Hearn
Prizefighter Light Heavy - Tony Oakey Won

27th Feb

Promoter Frank Maloney

Rendall Munroe W PTS v Kiko Martinez
Tony Jefferies debut
Ajose Olusegun W 7th rd v Scott Haywood 12 rounds (joined in round 5)
Gary Buckland W PTS v Craig Docherty 10 rounds (joined in 8th)

An example of two fights where im sure some people would have liked to have seen more 6 rds between the two of them.

SAT 28th FEB

Promoter FW

skelton v rogan - sat night
+ olympians debuts

2 fights that were not broadcast but would have been headline friday fight on a different night

Don Broadhurst W 11th rd v Isaac Owusu 12 rds Super Fly
Steven Bendall v W PTS Darren McDermott 10 rds Middleweight


6th March

Promoter Frank Maloney

jamie moore W 3rd rd v Piccirillo
Undercard
darren sutherland 2nd fight
Martin Murray W 4th rd v Mikheil Khucishvili
Jon Kays W pts v Barrington Brown 6 rounds Super Feather (showed rounds 3,5,6)
Matthew Edmonds W PTS v Kakhaber Avetisian 6 rounds bantem (showed full fight)

why they showed a six rounder with rounds missing before a full 6 round fight makes little sense to me

13 March

Promoter Barry Hearn

paul Mccloskey W 4th rd v Dean Harrison
Undercard
Paul Appleby W 1st rd v Juan Garcia Martin 6 rounds Feather
Troy James W PTS v Ibrar Riyaz 4 rounds super feather
Nick McDonald W 3rd rd v Ian Bailey 6 rounds super bantam
Steve Williams W rd 4 v Graeme Higginson 8 rounds light welter
Grzegorz Proksa v Lee Noble 6 rounds light middle

20 March

Promoter Frank Maloney

Ian Napa v W PTS Bauziar
Undercard
Akaash Bhatia W 1st rd v Elemir Rafael 8 rds
Ashley Sexton W 6th rd v Robert Nelson 8 rds
Larry Olubamiwo W 1st rd v Michal Skierniewski 4rds

24 march tuesday

prizefight lightweights - ryan brawley won

27 march

Promoter FW

Ricky Burns v Michael Gomez
Undercard
Kenny Anderson W PTS v Nathan King 10 rds
Andy Morris W PTS v Youssef Al Hamidi 4 rds

3 April

Promoter Barry Hearn

Mathew Edmonds v W 7th rd Gary Davies
Undercard
Michael Lomax W PTS v Yoann Camonin 8 rds
Ricky Owen W PTS v James Ancliff 6 rds
Nick McDonald W PTS v Andrey Kostin 6 rds

17 april

Promoter Frank Maloney

Jason Booth W 6th rd v Mark Moran
Undercard
Martin Murray W 3rd rd v Kevin Concepcion 6 rds
Bob Ajisafe W PTS v Ovill McKenzie 8 rds
Karl Place W 2nd rd v Jamie Spence
Jack Arnfield W PTS v Paul Morby 4 rds
Usman Ahmed W PTS v Francis Croes 6 rds

24 april

Promoter allegedly

don broadhurst W 6th rd v Asamoah Wilson
Undercard
Jamie Cox W 8th rd stoppage v Mark Lloyd 8 rds
Darren McDermott W PTS v Jamie Ambler 6 rds
Rob Hunt D v Chris Long 4 rds


im not going to comment on each bill but out of those the ones i was really looking forward beforehand were munroe v martinez and the jamie moore fight. also the gomez fight because you normally get good value with him. simpson v trusscott was intriging as well. norton v dolan and skelton v rogan turned out to be good fights.

one of the problems is if the main fight goes the distance we get to see less of the undercard.

i dont know if we can blame it on one thing - is it bad matchmaking , a lack of main event talent (where any true talent is now ppv) the time will come when kell brook for example could be ppv and who will take his place on the regular main events.

i might repeat myself with some of my points.

these days friday fight night is used as a stepping stone for the fighters on the way up. 10 years ago we had world title fights on saturday fight night (as it was then) and 2 or 3 quality fights on some bills (all mainevents in their own right). when was the last time we had a world title fight on friday fight night.i could be wrong but from memory it could be junior witter's win. any world title fight is now ppv. say for example if rogan got to challenge for a world title it would likely be ppv.

maybe there is a lack of true main event talent at the minute. could fw do a bill where he has both kell brook and nathan cleverly on the same bill. would we look forward to that more (would depend on the opponents i suppose). i know thats not going to happen due to more money being made for 2 seperate shows but are shows suffering by only having nomally one headline fight and then sometimes a bunch of 4 rounders. and if the main event is not good quality the rest of the card suffers and likely wont get as much viewers. i wonder how many fans (maybe more so casual fights who might have an interest in the main event) sometimes watch the main event and then switch off when the undercard comes on especially if they dont know anyone boxing on it. would we be better off with 2 main events so to speak even if it meant friday fight night was not on every week. and maybe bring back ringside to show the up and comers which the boxing fanatics can watch.

my main gripe with sky is their lack of american boxing. hatton v pac will be their first american broadcast this year. they dont show golden boy or any of the stuff setanta dont have contracts for.

ive got to say i really enjoy the hennessey bills on itv and i also really enjoyed the last couple of hayemaker bills on setanta. now the promoters on sky run bills every couple of weeks and i wonder is the quality of them suffering as a result. im wondering if the fact that these are on less often lead to better bills. i know young boxers need exposure to get a following but how many of hatton and khan fans (the ones that go to the fights) watched ther first 10 fights for example. a boxer needs to be marketed right as well as doing it in the ring to get national headline exposure. for example when hayemaker and hennessey broadcast bills they are generally 3 hours long and we get to see most of the action.

sky are rigid in their 2 hours which messed up the olympian bill. you would think they could overrun sometimes. its not as if they have anything live on after the boxing. for example on the khan v barrera box office card we would not have seen hall v pryce only for the delay in the enzo fight starting and the fact that the fight was only a few rounds.

the number of cancellations and withdrawels lately have been frustrating. we seem to have a spate of them at the minute.

[Eraserhead]

Haven't watched Friday Fight Night in months. It's really turned into a pile of shit in the last 12 months. Such a shame.

[Lenny]

I have only watched Friday Fight night recently if I have heard of both of the fighters in the main event. I'm tired of watching these commonwealth title fights against unknown Africans. Martin Power must feel sick, all the crap that gets brought over and gets taken out and he is the one who ends up with a Munyai.

There is a lot of good talent in the country at the moment and Friday Fight night needs to start delivering more Burns vs Gomez's and less Cleaverly vs God knows.

I'm actually missing the WBU, at least the challengers we used to get for those fights could be from anywhere in the world, now it's strictly rubbish from Africa. I know we can't have British title fights every week so why can't we have some decent matched English title fights or an International contest a la Moore vs Lujan (not a great fight I know but the idea was a good one)

[stujones]

Also, lets not forget alot of the "main events" on FNF a few years ago wouldn't be for a commonwealth belt but would be showcased on fight skool mid week, and a geniune good match up - like Oakey vs Francis, Gomez vs Burns shown on Friday/Saturday night.

No disrespect meant, but the likes of Broadhurst, Cleverley, Chris Edwards, Gary Davies etc are not old school main event fighters yet. Broadhurst and Cleverley would be headlining Fight Skool cards and Edwards and Davies would be chief support to an old F/S nf bill.

I take back what I said about Barry Hearn, he has showcased more "normal" bills than I realised.

[punchers chance]

I think the concept is brilliant. The TV money should guarantee a half decent bill topper at least. It gives fight fans something to look forward to most weeks.
.

The bill toppers are the problem. Too many foregone conclusions.
People want to see competitive match ups, 50/50 contests and we haven't had anywhere near enough.

[Poncey]

When was the last time a world title was fought on FNF? Molitor v Hunter?

[whicker]

The problem is the timing.

It is not a live boxing show.

A live boxing show should show some live undercard bouts, then the main event as a climax. Rushing on the main event at the start of the show and then showing selected undercard highlights is not nearly as exciting as a normal live show.

A good show should have some build up, some warm up fights and some background etc.

Not a "main event" then 90 minutes of commentators talking shite and boring highlights.

[THEBUTCH]

Standards need to improve on Sky and here's a tip, watch some of ITV's shows.

Sky might even want to bring in some quality control on SN's and Matchroom's TV shows. Just throw out the matchups that are below par.

[whicker]

Standards need to improve on Sky and here's a tip, watch some of ITV's shows.

Exactly, ITV still put on "a show." Starts with an into, then a warm up bout live- often a great little scrap, then the main support and ends with the main event.

In between there are little fetaures and builds ups- which are great- add to the show.

Like for example when they interviewed that German guy before the scrap who was fighting Tyson Fury- it's interesting, and adds to the fight- I wanted him to win! You simply don't get that sort of build up when SKY just stick on a fight "from earlier in the evening."

It was good too when they spoke to Daniel Peret- always good to hear what a FIGTHER has to say- not some blabbermouths in suits in the commentary box!!!!

[TheGoods]

FNF has fell to bits and Sports Network are to blame I'm afraid. Matchtroom don't put on enough shows and seem more interested in darts now but at least Truscott v Simpson was decent while Maloney is carrying the torch with the most competetive main event fights. SN cards on a Friday have been awful of late (Burns v Gomez the exception). I like a bet but you are getting main events with the fav going off as a 1/50 or a 1/100 shot. It's just abysmal.

[punchers chance]

The problem is the timing.

It is not a live boxing show.

A live boxing show should show some live undercard bouts, then the main event as a climax. Rushing on the main event at the start of the show and then showing selected undercard highlights is not nearly as exciting as a normal live show.

A good show should have some build up, some warm up fights and some background etc.

Not a "main event" then 90 minutes of commentators talking shite and boring highlights.

True. I hadn't really thought about this point but it makes sense

[banjo]

When was the last time a world title was fought on FNF? Molitor v Hunter?

Witter v Harris I believe.

[TerribleTerry]

Cancelled sky sports many months ago - dont feel like I am missing anything either.

They will have to do some mighty work to get my subscription back now.

[whiteboy]

How many viewers does your average FFN get......and does it make a huge difference what the main event is......?? That is the question

[Gazmac81]

x2

FNF has fell to bits and Sports Network are to blame I'm afraid. Matchtroom don't put on enough shows and seem more interested in darts now but at least Truscott v Simpson was decent while Maloney is carrying the torch with the most competetive main event fights. SN cards on a Friday have been awful of late (Burns v Gomez the exception). I like a bet but you are getting main events with the fav going off as a 1/50 or a 1/100 shot. It's just abysmal.

[Gazmac81]

unless the Fight is a competitive match i switch over to the Wrestling which is on at the same time.

How many viewers does your average FFN get......and does it make a huge difference what the main event is......?? That is the question

[TerribleTerry]

unless the Fight is a competitive match i switch over to the Wrestling which is on at the same time.

Please tell me you are taking the pi$$ Gaz

[whiteboy]

unless the Fight is a competitive match i switch over to the Wrestling which is on at the same time.

How many viewers does your average FFN get......and does it make a huge difference what the main event is......?? That is the question

more competitive is it?

[Gazmac81]

i could easily predict the outcome of a Frank Commonwealth Title Show
than some of the fixed wrestling matches

i like my entertainment what can i say