Sky dump Hatton

[elephant man]

Ricky Hatton MBE ‏ @realrickyhatton
Just landed in hong kong.what a trek that was. Just landed and get a load of tweets of sympathy as people have found out that sky have Pulled the plug on my dates.thank you to all who have sent best wishes. I have a load of champions and a to stable so HP will consider other Avenues for my lads. I guess if you want loyalty by a dog.

Apparently their last show is June 16.


Matchroom on the other hand now have a whopping 20 fight deal with Sky.

[elephant man]

Buncey not happy

Steve Bunce ‏ @bigdaddybunce
If Ricky's pals have stabbed him in the back and kicked him off Sky it is a total and utter disgrace.

Steve Bunce ‏ @bigdaddybunce
This is not about Setanta or allegedly it is about doing the right thing. A disgrace by the dogs.

Steve Bunce ‏ @bigdaddybunce
Hatton kept Sky going, kept boxing in the public eye and the people there claim to be his pals! Dogs, I would not be able to sleep tonight.

Steve Bunce ‏ @bigdaddybunce
It's not about coverage - if they have one promoter with 80percent of their dates it is bad thing. It moves closer to a monopoly.

Steve Bunce ‏ @bigdaddybunce
Can it really be true that Ricky Hatton has No Sky dates after Quigg and Munroe. That is a disgrace. Clearly never promised Rupert anything.

[Horse]

Would Channel 5 be interested in showing Hatton Promotions fights?

[NazNaci1]

Not sure C5 will pick up HP, seeing as they have Hennessey. I would hope so but given how little interest there is in the sport from the major broadcasters (C5 apart), doubtful.

Which then raise the question, where does HP go? Sure as hell won't be Allegedly Channel or SKY, so personally, I am a little unsure what happens.

Any idea on why SKY decided to drop Hatton & Co?

[Tommy Gunn13]

Just proves that Hearn is skys Goldenboy,he prob threatened to take the darts elsewhere if he didn't get more dates..How can he fill more dates he hardly has any boxers,i suppose were going to see Hearn in co promotions a lot now?? No doubt that will be how Dave Coldwell gets a few dates(which im glad but not at Hattons exspense)

Got to Feel sorry for Hatton promotions who done things the hard way to get started,instead of Hearn who was givin everything on a plate from birth.. At least Eddies army of nut huggers will be happy....

[jessi]

Can't see any reason why ch5 wouldn't be atleast interested ! Hattons stable have some good prospects and get matched evenly more often then most !

[Final round]

A very LAZY, short sighted decision by Sky , Hatton promotions have put together some excellent cards. I hope they team up with BN.

[Old bones Ian]

there's no loyalty in boxing, we should all know that by now.

[JamesH]

Buncey not happy

Steve Bunce ‏ @bigdaddybunce
If Ricky's pals have stabbed him in the back and kicked him off Sky it is a total and utter disgrace.

Steve Bunce ‏ @bigdaddybunce
This is not about Setanta or Allegedly channel it is about doing the right thing. A disgrace by the dogs.

Steve Bunce ‏ @bigdaddybunce
Hatton kept Sky going, kept boxing in the public eye and the people there claim to be his pals! Dogs, I would not be able to sleep tonight.

Steve Bunce ‏ @bigdaddybunce
It's not about coverage - if they have one promoter with 80percent of their dates it is bad thing. It moves closer to a monopoly.

Steve Bunce ‏ @bigdaddybunce
Can it really be true that Ricky Hatton has No Sky dates after Quigg and Munroe. That is a disgrace. Clearly never promised Rupert anything.

If Skys boxing has become so limited, does a subscription only boxing channel keep boxing in the public eye? Does it not move it closer to a monopoly? Was Karpency fighting Cleverly 'the right thing'? Has James De Gale been denied what was promised to him in a contract? Has JC been paid yet? Have all the other lads been squared up financially?

Boxing has its fair share of dogs. My take is simple, call them all for what they are, or shut your mouth.

That said, its does strike me as an odd decision by Sky, very odd. I thought Hatton Promotions were doing well.

[leforge]

A very LAZY, short sighted decision by Sky , Hatton promotions have put together some excellent cards. I hope they team up with BN.

I am surprised by this. I think they go to 5 they have a much better stable than Hennessy plus Hatton name. allegedly is low viewers plus low pay from tv based on their current level of subcribers.

[greenyox3]

Betrayed loyalties (get a dog) aside, I don't see how this could make sense for Sky unless they were pulling back their interest in boxing. Especially now Channel456 now has the exclusive contract to show GBP shows.

[ShadrachSimmo]

Premier Sports maybe?

[The Insider]

What a shame. HP certainly deserve a break having done it the hard way and lost so much money in the early days. They're live shows on YouTube have seen some cracking small hall promotions which would have gone under the radar otherwise. HP always seemed to have a genuine interest in the small hall shows they covered too. Perhaps they could team up with another promotional outfit and take on the rest?

[smoggy7188]

hearn aint got enough fighters to fill 20shows has he? something must have happened behind the scenes for a decision like this to be made.

[DavidPayne]

Hearn essentially becomes Sky's boxing matchmaker. If he's got spare dates he can bid for fights etc non? Or work with other promoters like DC and RH to get shows made.

Could be monopoly, could be great. Depends on Hearn's judgement and willingness to to the right thing for all parties.

[Bennyblanco]

Bad form from sky

Maybe hearns planning on signing the Olympians to boost his stable

[smoggy7188]

By the looks of twitter, sky only want top class fights, big names or massive bills with lots of title fights on. Looks like the days of an 8rounder as main undercard support and a mismatched title fight are over.

[JamesH]

DavidPayne makes a great point. It could go either way, this. I don't think being more stringent with quality is a bad thing, as long as the frequency isn't too affected (which it would probably be). Quite a big change to the boxing-on-tv landscape.

[DavidPayne]

So we can anticipate 26 bills per year.

20 for Hearn.

8 Prizefighters
2 Carl Froch
3 Kel Brook
2 Darren Barkers

5 remaining dates.

6 for Maloney

5 for Price

1 remaining -

So in effect Coldwell, Hatton and the less important attractions for Hearn and Maloney are now bidding for six dates or chief undercard slots on Froch, Brook, Barker and Price dates.

[smoggy7188]

Id rather see Prizefighters not included in the boxing dates they give out and have it separate.

[leforge]

Betrayed loyalties (get a dog) aside, I don't see how this could make sense for Sky unless they were pulling back their interest in boxing. Especially now Channel456 now has the exclusive contract to show GBP shows.

How come berto v Ortiz is on sky!

[DavidPayne]

I'd rather see Jada Fire shaking her arse on my desk but I'm afraid on the whole Prizefighters will be separate dates I would anticipate.

May be used occasionally as easy undercard like McCloskey.

[leforge]

Matchroom will be signing more fighters I am sure. I personally think no promotors should have contracts should be on fight by fight basis!

[MightyWarrior]

If Sky are talking about upping the level of their shows, they need to ditch the B level prizefighter bollocks - Hearn is conning the gullible Smith with his recycled journeymen and has beens dressed up as a big event.

[dondada]

If Sky are talking about upping the level of their shows, they need to ditch the B level prizefighter bollocks - Hearn is conning the gullible Smith with his recycled journeymen and has beens dressed up as a big event.

I do think it's an interesting and eye-catching format which has had some super scraps and good fighters in it.

But it does need to be used more sparingly, IMO...less is more and all that.