Top Rank ESPN

[BAD INTENTIONS]

http://www.espn.com/boxing/story/_/id/2 ... years-come

Hopefully, premium cable exits the boxing game.
Bad Intentions is now a Top Rank fan.

Go Bob Arum!

[halfamill]

Best news I heard all day. What do they mean by the second to last paragraph? Is there a chance that there could be ESPN ppvs?

[gilgamesh]

Cool...hope that Stephen A. Smith isn't part of the package deal

[SaadOffTheDeck]

Cool...hope that Stephen A. Smith isn't part of the package deal

Smith, Atlas and Hopkins are all terrible. Has anyone seen the Crawford ratings yet? Lomachenko lost viewers from his last HBO fight, hopefully that was because it was on almost 2 hours after it was scheduled.

[gilgamesh]

Cool...hope that Stephen A. Smith isn't part of the package deal

Smith, Atlas and Hopkins are all terrible. Has anyone seen the Crawford ratings yet? Lomachenko lost viewers from his last HBO fight, hopefully that was because it was on almost 2 hours after it was scheduled.

Yeah I'd say that was a huge reason for it. If something's not on when people turn the channel there looking for it, they're gonna find something else to watch.

Crawford's ratings didn't do so well either I don't think. It was slightly over 1 Million viewers as I recall.

[SaadOffTheDeck]

Cool...hope that Stephen A. Smith isn't part of the package deal

Smith, Atlas and Hopkins are all terrible. Has anyone seen the Crawford ratings yet? Lomachenko lost viewers from his last HBO fight, hopefully that was because it was on almost 2 hours after it was scheduled.

Yeah I'd say that was a huge reason for it. If something's not on when people turn the channel there looking for it, they're gonna find something else to watch.

Crawford's ratings didn't do so well either I don't think. It was slightly over 1 Million viewers as I recall.

That's a shame, this country just doesn't give a fornicate about Boxing. Haymon's disgraceful attempt at a good idea, with great funding, was the clear death blow for any chance of Boxing being mainstream here again. Not that I care about our little nerd club as fans, but you need ratings for sponsors, etc.. to make the big fights.

[sweetviolenturge]

Obviously, ESPN must be happy with the ratings that the last three shows have produced because they just signed this deal with Top Rank.
The Pacquiao fight produced very good ratings for the network as did last week's Crawford bout. No, they were'nt perhaps as stellar as they could have been, but I believe that given the right match ups this deal could really do some great things for boxing.
The Lomenchenko bout was an anomaly because of the delay for the bout due to that bloody baseball game. And Crawford's ratings weren't too bad considering that Crawford hasn't quite yet crossed over into the mainstream yet. I think last week's bout will definitely go a long way toward him achieving that status though. Not so because the fight was such a good one but because of the electric atmosphere that his hometown crowd produced when he won in such dramatic fashion. You can't buy that sort of atmosphere & it translated well to the viewers watching at home.
One thing I'd like for Arum to do is to begin featuring a heavyweight or two in competitive fights. Should he do so he could develop at least one of them into a real attraction.

[SaadOffTheDeck]

Obviously, ESPN must be happy with the ratings that the last three shows have produced because they just signed this deal with Top Rank.
The Pacquiao fight produced very good ratings for the network as did last week's Crawford bout. No, they were'nt perhaps as stellar as they could have been, but I believe that given the right match ups this deal could really do some great things for boxing.
The Lomenchenko bout was an anomaly because of the delay for the bout due to that bloody baseball game. And Crawford's ratings weren't too bad considering that Crawford hasn't quite yet crossed over into the mainstream yet. I think last week's bout will definitely go a long way toward him achieving that status though. Not so because the fight was such a good one but because of the electric atmosphere that his hometown crowd produced when he won in such dramatic fashion. You can't buy that sort of atmosphere & it translated well to the viewers watching at home.
One thing I'd like for Arum to do is to begin featuring a heavyweight or two in competitive fights. Should he do so he could develop at least one of them into a real attraction.

This deal has been agreed to for quite some time. I don't doubt that ESPN is happy with the rankings. They televise spelling bees. But if they're paying big money for poor ratings it won't be making any advancements for the sport into the main stream. Crawford is the best fighter in the world imo, neither he or Lomachenko will EVER be crossover stars.

Pac/Horn were the best ratings ESPN has had for a fight in something like 2 decades. You had to go back to Danell Nicholson vs TBA for a fight it couldn't beat. Perfect indictment where the sport stands now in this country. I love the fights on ESPN, I'm getting cloe to pulling the plug on HBO & Showtime to save some money. Just looking at the big picture, Boxing could be great again here, but the fighters would have to accept reasonable paydays. They're as overpaid as any profession in the country, it will have to get worse if it's ever going to make that rise again.

[FastestHandsInThewest]

This will help boxing's status.

[SaadOffTheDeck]

This will help boxing's status.

It's certainly better than HBO. The massive failure of the PBC will be tough to overcome.

[halfamill]

So does this mean that there will be ESPN PPVs since that is a part of the deal.

[SaadOffTheDeck]

So does this mean that there will be ESPN PPVs since that is a part of the deal.

Of course.

[caldo2025]

F ESPN and their awful coverage and dumb commercials in between rounds. Those idiots screwed me in the Pac/Horn fight because they had some stupid soccer game on longer than expected and started the fight on ESPN 2 so I ended up taping that pathetic "sport" instead. I think the final score was 0-0 too which must have been exhilarating. There's only 1 sport less popular than Boxing in the US...Soccer.

The damn commercials are annoying as hell. You've got an announcer that sounds like a perpetual drunk. This is not great for the sport. Not at all. I'd rather watch HBO team any day of the week and I'll pay extra for it.

[SaadOffTheDeck]

Agreed the production is terrible. Soccer is much more popular in the states than boxing.

[IKSRTFO]

Cool...hope that Stephen A. Smith isn't part of the package deal

Smith, Atlas and Hopkins are all terrible. Has anyone seen the Crawford ratings yet? Lomachenko lost viewers from his last HBO fight, hopefully that was because it was on almost 2 hours after it was scheduled.

I thought that was the ESPN fight that was 2 hours late?

[halfamill]

So does this mean that there will be ESPN PPVs since that is a part of the deal.

Of course.

I was hoping that Top Rank moving to ESPN would be the beginning of the end for boxing ppvs.

[SaadOffTheDeck]

So does this mean that there will be ESPN PPVs since that is a part of the deal.

Of course.

I was hoping that Top Rank moving to ESPN would be the beginning of the end for boxing ppvs.

Just the opposite imo. There will have to be more ppvs to get purses in line to fix the sport here.

[SenorPipino]

PPV boxing will never die. Too much money involved.

The sponsors can't and won't pony up enough money to satisfy the megastars who will now be expecting $100 million paydays, like the pro debuting McGregor. Ergo, PPV will have to step in.

I don't mind Atlas or Stephen A. But then I always looked forward to Howard Cosell calling a bout. Cosell's presence screamed BIG FIGHT.

[SenorPipino]

Obviously, ESPN must be happy with the ratings that the last three shows have produced because they just signed this deal with Top Rank.
The Pacquiao fight produced very good ratings for the network as did last week's Crawford bout. No, they were'nt perhaps as stellar as they could have been, but I believe that given the right match ups this deal could really do some great things for boxing.
The Lomenchenko bout was an anomaly because of the delay for the bout due to that bloody baseball game. And Crawford's ratings weren't too bad considering that Crawford hasn't quite yet crossed over into the mainstream yet. I think last week's bout will definitely go a long way toward him achieving that status though. Not so because the fight was such a good one but because of the electric atmosphere that his hometown crowd produced when he won in such dramatic fashion. You can't buy that sort of atmosphere & it translated well to the viewers watching at home.
One thing I'd like for Arum to do is to begin featuring a heavyweight or two in competitive fights. Should he do so he could develop at least one of them into a real attraction.

Pac/Horn were the best ratings ESPN has had for a fight in something like 2 decades. You had to go back to Danell Nicholson vs TBA for a fight it couldn't beat.

Do you have a clue why the now forgotten 1995 heavyweight fight between Danell Nicholson and Darren Hayden has been the gold standard for ESPN boxing rating for more than 20 years.

I can't imagine that casual fans were drooling in anticipation of that matchup. Even hardcore fans probably weren't overly excited by the bout. They weren't even top 10 fighters.

What was the attraction that has stood strong for more than two decades?

[Enlightened-One]

In my mind, the only way the Top Rank-ESPN venture will become an overwhelming commercial success is if Bob Arum tries to bring in opponents from rival promotions, because their stable lacks depth.

For instance, how many of these Top Rank fighters would you personally consider marquee names that are likely to continue being an active participant in the sport of boxing for at least another twelve months, excluding the likes of Terence Crawford & Vasyl Lomachenko?

• Alex Saucedo
• Alexander Besputin
• Andy Ruiz
• Andy Vences
• Antonio Vargas
• Arnold Barboza Jr.
• Arturo Marquez
• Bryan Lua
• Bryant Jennings
• Casey Ramos
• Christopher Diaz
• Danny Valdivia
• Egidijus Kavaliauskas
• Erick De Leon
• Esquiva Falcao
• Fazlidden “Fayzi” Gaibnazarov
• Felix Verdejo
• Francisco Santana
• Gabriel Flores Jr.
• Gilberto Ramirez
• Isidro Ochoa
• Jason Sosa
• Jean Rivera
• Jesse Garcia
• Jesse Hart
• Jessie Magdaleno
• Jessie Vargas
• Joey Alday
• Jose Benavidez
• Jose Felix
• Jose Gonzalez
• Jose Lopez
• Jose Ramirez
• Joseph Adorno
• Joseph Parker
• Juan Diaz
• Julian Rodriguez
• Konstantin Ponomarev
• Lenny Zappavigna
• Manny Pacquiao
• Maxim Dadashev
• Michael Conlan
• Miguel Marriaga
• Mikaela Mayer
• Mike Alvarado
• Mike Reed
• Nicholas Walters
• Oleksandr Gvozdyk
• Oscar Valdez
• Paul Fleming
• Quilisto Madera
• Ray Beltran
• Rex Tso
• Robson Conceicao
• Ryota Murata
• Shakur Stevenson
• Steve Nelson
• Teofimo Lopez
• Toka Kahn Clary
• Trevor McCumby
• Victor Padilla
• Viktor Postol
• Zou Shiming

I personally doubt that televising bouts involving solely the above fighters are likely to draw impressive ratings for ESPN (free-to-air or PPV).

That being said, I wish Top Ranks’ commercial partnership every success, because I feel the sport of boxing requires bold moves such as this in order to continue being relevant to a US audience, so I'd genuinely like to be proven wrong about my initial gut instinct in regards to this matter.

[SaadOffTheDeck]

Obviously, ESPN must be happy with the ratings that the last three shows have produced because they just signed this deal with Top Rank.
The Pacquiao fight produced very good ratings for the network as did last week's Crawford bout. No, they were'nt perhaps as stellar as they could have been, but I believe that given the right match ups this deal could really do some great things for boxing.
The Lomenchenko bout was an anomaly because of the delay for the bout due to that bloody baseball game. And Crawford's ratings weren't too bad considering that Crawford hasn't quite yet crossed over into the mainstream yet. I think last week's bout will definitely go a long way toward him achieving that status though. Not so because the fight was such a good one but because of the electric atmosphere that his hometown crowd produced when he won in such dramatic fashion. You can't buy that sort of atmosphere & it translated well to the viewers watching at home.
One thing I'd like for Arum to do is to begin featuring a heavyweight or two in competitive fights. Should he do so he could develop at least one of them into a real attraction.

Pac/Horn were the best ratings ESPN has had for a fight in something like 2 decades. You had to go back to Danell Nicholson vs TBA for a fight it couldn't beat.

Do you have a clue why the now forgotten 1995 heavyweight fight between Danell Nicholson and Darren Hayden has been the gold standard for ESPN boxing rating for more than 20 years.

I can't imagine that casual fans were drooling in anticipation of that matchup. Even hardcore fans probably weren't overly excited by the bout. They weren't even top 10 fighters.

What was the attraction that has stood strong for more than two decades?

Boxing was the attraction. It was still a pretty big sport then.

[Enlightened-One]

In my mind, the only way the Top Rank-ESPN venture will become an overwhelming commercial success is if Bob Arum tries to bring in opponents from rival promotions, because their stable lacks depth.

For instance, how many of these Top Rank fighters would you personally consider marquee names that are likely to continue being an active participant in the sport of boxing for at least another twelve months, excluding the likes of Terence Crawford & Vasyl Lomachenko?

• Alex Saucedo
• Alexander Besputin
• Andy Ruiz
• Andy Vences
• Antonio Vargas
• Arnold Barboza Jr.
• Arturo Marquez
• Bryan Lua
• Bryant Jennings
• Casey Ramos
• Christopher Diaz
• Danny Valdivia
• Egidijus Kavaliauskas
• Erick De Leon
• Esquiva Falcao
• Fazlidden “Fayzi” Gaibnazarov
• Felix Verdejo
• Francisco Santana
• Gabriel Flores Jr.
• Gilberto Ramirez
• Isidro Ochoa
• Jason Sosa
• Jean Rivera
• Jesse Garcia
• Jesse Hart
• Jessie Magdaleno
• Jessie Vargas
• Joey Alday
• Jose Benavidez
• Jose Felix
• Jose Gonzalez
• Jose Lopez
• Jose Ramirez
• Joseph Adorno
• Joseph Parker
• Juan Diaz
• Julian Rodriguez
• Konstantin Ponomarev
• Lenny Zappavigna
• Manny Pacquiao
• Maxim Dadashev
• Michael Conlan
• Miguel Marriaga
• Mikaela Mayer
• Mike Alvarado
• Mike Reed
• Nicholas Walters
• Oleksandr Gvozdyk
• Oscar Valdez
• Paul Fleming
• Quilisto Madera
• Ray Beltran
• Rex Tso
• Robson Conceicao
• Ryota Murata
• Shakur Stevenson
• Steve Nelson
• Teofimo Lopez
• Toka Kahn Clary
• Trevor McCumby
• Victor Padilla
• Viktor Postol
• Zou Shiming

I personally doubt that televising bouts involving solely the above fighters are likely to draw impressive ratings for ESPN (free-to-air or PPV).

That being said, I wish Top Ranks’ commercial partnership every success, because I feel the sport of boxing requires bold moves such as this in order to continue being relevant to a US audience, so I'd genuinely like to be proven wrong about my initial gut instinct in regards to this matter.

I’ve just thought… people from this forum moan like fornicate about the PBC, but excluding the likes of Terence Crawford & Vasyl Lomachenko, there aren’t many fighters from the above Top Rank stable that are likely to continue being active participants in the sport of boxing and are also considered better than the likes of these boxers:

• Paulie Malignaggi
• Austin Trout
• Erislandy Lara
• Adonis Stevenson
• Andre Berto
• Deontay Wilder
• Adrien Broner
• Danny Garcia
• Antonio Tarver
• Amir Khan
• Anthony Dirrell
• Errol Spence Jr
• Keith Thurman
• Lamont Peterson
• Leonard Bundu
• Leo Santa Cruz
• Miguel Vazquez
• Omar Figueroa Jr
• Peter Quillin
• Shawn Porter
• Vanes Martirosyan
• Victor Ortiz
• Adam Kownacki
• Ahmed Elbiali
• Alex Martin
• Alfredo Angulo
• Andre Dirrell
• Andrzej Fonfara
• Anthony Peterson
• Beibut Shumenov
• BJ Flores
• Bryant Perrella
• Caleb Plant
• Caleb Truax
• Chad Dawson
• Chris Arreola
• Daniel Jacobs
• Darwin Price
• David Grayton
• Devon Alexander
• Dominic Breazeale
• Earl Newman
• Edwin Rodriguez
• Fernando Guerrero
• Gary Russell Jr
• Gerald Washington
• Gervonta Davis
• Immanuwel Aleem
• J'Leon Love
• Jamal James
• Jamel Herring
• Jamontay Clark
• Jarrett Hurd
• Javier Fortuna
• Javontae Starks
• Jermall Charlo
• Jermell Charlo
• John Molina Jr
• Jordan Shimmell
• Jorge Lara
• Joseph Elegele
• Julian Williams
• Justin DeLoach
• Kevin Watts
• Koki Kameda
• Kyrone Davis
• Luis Collazo
• Luis Cruz
• Marcus Browne
• Mario Barrios
• Mark Hernandez
• Miguel Flores
• Omar Douglas
• Oscar Escandon
• Wale Omotoso
• Patryk Szymanski
• Rances Barthelemy
• Rau'shee Warren
• Robert Easter Jr
• Robert Guerrero
• Roberto Garcia
• Ryan Karl
• Sakio Bika
• Sergio Mora
• Sergiy Derevyanchenko
• Stephen Fulton
• Steve Lovett
• Terrell Gausha
• Thomas Hill
• Thomas Williams Jr
• Tomoki Kameda
• Tony Harrison
• Travis Kauffman
• Walter Castillo
• Wilky Campfort
• John Jackson
• Juan Dominguez
• Julius Jackson
• Jonathan Guzman
• Malcolm McAllister
• Josesito Lopez
• Abner Mares
• Erick Bone
• James DeGale
• Artur Beterbiev
• Steve Cunningham
• Carl Frampton
• Sammy Vasquez
• Phil Lo Greco
• Isiah Thomas
• Juan Payano
• Lucian Bute
• Eleider Alvarez
• Moises Flores
• Umberto Savigne
• Carlos Velasquez
• Domonique Dolton
• Krzysztof Glowacki
• Hugo Ruiz
• Felix Diaz
• Lee Selby
• Danny O'Connor
• Erickson Lubin
• Michael Seals
• Haskell Rhodes
• Sergey Lipinets
• Kevin Bizier
• Frank Galarza
• Charles Martin
• Artur Szpilka
• Keith Tapia
• Maciej Sulecki
• Dennis Galarza
• Kiko Martinez
• Tugstsogt Nyambayar
• Ivan Redkach
• Jose Pedraza
• Kanat Islam
• Emmanuel Rodriguez
• Roman Martinez
• Edner Cherry
• Hugo Centeno Jr
• David Benavidez
• Mikey Garcia
• Fabian Maidana
• Eddie Ramirez
• Siarhei Rabchanka
• Ryan Kielczweski
• Oscar Rivas
• Alejandro Luna
• Rickey Edwards
• Dejan Zlaticanin
• Izuagbe Ugonoh
• Jose Borrego
• Miguel Cruz
• Brandon Figueroa
• Leduan Barthelemy
• Claudio Marrero
• Ivan Golub