RIP showtime boxing. SKY in the future?

[Glass Joe]

A major loss, and I never thought I would see HBO and Showtime both dropping boxing in my lifetime.

Every empire does fall, can you see SKY dropping boxing in the future or only doing PPV? they cant be happy with the quality compared to the past and latest injury

[The Docker]

Lots of various themed threads proflificating the demise of boxing.

It's been on the wain for a good while now. In the UK the popularity and financial clout of SKY meant boxing was the beneficiary of the major terrestrial TV channels pulling the plug on covering it. I'd love it if the big live fights returned to the BEEB or ITV. Illegal streaming is also killing it.

Boxing needs the platform of a higher wider audience. Back on the big terrestrial channels for me. Increased popularity through slow and steady brainwashing.

[Ricky]

Boxing is dead in the water.

[Nightmare Roy]

Boxing is dead in the water.

Misfits is the future, 1.3m PPV's

[Ricky]

Boxing is dead in the water.

Misfits is the future, 1.3m PPV's

I don't think it's sustainable given the standard of fighting. The novelty seems like it's wearing off and you're left with guys who don't know how to fight, hugging in the ring for a few rounds, that surely can't last.

[Nightmare Roy]

Boxing is dead in the water.

Misfits is the future, 1.3m PPV's

I don't think it's sustainable given the standard of fighting. The novelty seems like it's wearing off and you're left with guys who don't know how to fight, hugging in the ring for a few rounds, that surely can't last.

It's not boxing fans who are watching it though, it's young people who watch these guys on youtube and they have millions of followers, they don't know what a good skilled fight is. if those figures are true, don't be surprised if all the major promoters start getting involved. It's all about the money. I genuinely think it could take over boxing, not forever but maybe for a couple of years.

[Bercli]

Misfits is the future, 1.3m PPV's

I don't think it's sustainable given the standard of fighting. The novelty seems like it's wearing off and you're left with guys who don't know how to fight, hugging in the ring for a few rounds, that surely can't last.

It's not boxing fans who are watching it though, it's young people who watch these guys on youtube and they have millions of followers, they don't know what a good skilled fight is. if those figures are true, don't be surprised if all the major promoters start getting involved. It's all about the money. I genuinely think it could take over boxing, not forever but maybe for a couple of years.

Let's not forget it is the so called 'major promoters' and out of touch boxing boards that have single handedly ruined the greatest combat sport of all. They have no clue how to promote and package events.
No doubt the promoters' sanctioning bodies and boxing boards would love to share in the spoils but that would be a massive mistake.

Misfits works because they had the vision to see what all of the above failed to see. So the last thing they will want to do is allow the out of touch boxing fraternity a way in imo

[Coco]

Likes of Crawford will be on Misfits undercards

[TheLeprechaun]

We are near the end stages for boxing sadly. It's only the "boxing anoraks" as Frank/Kellie Maloney once called us that don't see it coming. Boxing only really survives at it's current level due to it's history and all the great fighters and great nights but it's not something that networks generally want to touch these days. UFC/MMA is making it's own history and making the best fights week in week out while the best fights in boxing rarely get made. Putting on female fights that stink out arenas and turn viewers off has had an impact. Sky could have been so much better but you had an annoying twat on commentary every time you watched a fight and virtually every casual I tried to get into the sport disliked Adam Smith too much. I'm just saying Sky could have been so much better. Now it's in it's worst era. They had the grand idea of signing Okolie of all people and trying to brand him the face of Sky boxing Just look at the Canelo fight last week and it was once again a failed attempt by me to get a casual friend watching and what do we see - Charlo making no attempt to win the fight and turning up for a paycheque. Ergo my mate won't be watching again and I wouldn't have the temerity to ask him to watch another boxing fight. He's buzzing to come over for this weeks big UFC card though.

[margaret thatcher]

the buture is fright

3 women's fights followed by 3 misfitz fights, including the tag team world championship, followed by tyson fury vs john cena. game is changed

[KiwiRider]

Likes of Crawford will be on Misfits undercards

Gawd!
I shiver at the thought of it.
It's one of those things you think "nah..."
And next minute...

[CaptainSpacerod]

Does this mean Jimmy Lennon Jr’s peerless “It’s Showtime” ring announcement dies with it ?

[Glass Joe]

Does this mean Jimmy Lennon Jr’s peerless “It’s Showtime” ring announcement dies with it ?

Jimmy does big shows in Japan would like to see him cover the big fights in the UK

[veriton]

I predict Misfit Diamond titles for the pros and Misfit Gold titles for the influencers on the same card. The crowd last week got there early and watched the whole thing because there was entertainment all the way through, not the 60-54 bilge or excruciating women's boxing that makes a traditional card unwatchable.

[maverick23]

Traditional boxing is becoming more and more niche every year. We still good fights and the sport won’t die but there’s a reason some of the biggest networks have/are/may pull out of the sport.

The financials of top boxing are out of control and have been for many years. Fighter purses are unsustainably high compared to the viewing figures/commercial revenue the fights bring in. Take Teofimo Lopez. He sold poorly at the gate against Josh Taylor and his show averaged less than 800,000 viewers. Yet he was talking about wanting a $100m deal and apparently requested massive money to fight Haney. Someone, probably ESPN, would have lost money on Teo vs Taylor.

TV networks in the current climate are less interested in losing money as before as the ad rates are pretty low (the amount of money they get for each 1,000 viewers is far less now than it was pre covid) so to make big fights, or close to that, many are going down the PPV route.

We saw Wilder/Helenius, Ruiz/Arreola, Crawford/Avanesyan, Plant/Benevidez, Loma/Haney, Canelo/Ryder in the last 18 months on PPV in the US that all delivered crap numbers. If they can’t make these fights using the normal TV outlets then either the people involved are wanting too much money or the fights shouldn’t happen. We’ve got the same with Haney/Prograis and Benevidez/Andrade. Both good fights but neither should be on PPV.

I was speaking with someone yesterday and he was saying it’s ok for guys to be fighting just twice a year or once if they’ve the top guys. It’s hard to build someone properly and create interest in people with such inactivity. The year De La Hoya first won a world title he fought 5 times and 4 times the following year. In the year Mayweather won the world title he fought 7 times and then 3 times the year after that.

The way pro boxing works needs to change or it’ll continue to become more niche. An appetite will remain for the massive fights but fewer tv networks will want to invest money into it.

A college football game in the US on Saturday generated 7m viewers. Id be surprised if ESPN’s middleweight unification fight brought in 10% of that.

I worry that Top Rank’s deal with ESPN won’t be renewed and that Sky Sports leave the sport following the Boxxer deal.

[tonyevs]

Boxing has been dying a slow death since the 90's.
Heavyweight boxing had always been the flagship division; if the heavyweight division was healthy then so was the sport in general.

It could be argued that Mike Tyson was the last of the true heavyweight champions that had the wider global publics attention. Since then it's really only been heavyweight stars in particular countries to big extent.

Those running boxing have never done anything to help the sport going forward. They have always fleeced the fighters, but now fleece the paying public.

PPVs accelerated the decline by limiting those able to follow the sport in real time; interest wanes when you watch it the next day ..
The best avoiding fighting the best has become more obvious.
Women's boxing being pushed to the fore despite it being at a very poor standard has likely pushed more viewers away than attracting them.
The social media/ YouTube stars combining their 'celebrity' with boxing has made it difficult on the prospects to gain a following.

I really unsure if boxing as us anoraks know it can really survive.

[Spud]

We are near the end stages for boxing sadly. It's only the "boxing anoraks" as Frank/Kellie Maloney once called us that don't see it coming. Boxing only really survives at it's current level due to it's history and all the great fighters and great nights but it's not something that networks generally want to touch these days. UFC/MMA is making it's own history and making the best fights week in week out while the best fights in boxing rarely get made. Putting on female fights that stink out arenas and turn viewers off has had an impact. Sky could have been so much better but you had an annoying twat on commentary every time you watched a fight and virtually every casual I tried to get into the sport disliked Adam Smith too much. I'm just saying Sky could have been so much better. Now it's in it's worst era. They had the grand idea of signing Okolie of all people and trying to brand him the face of Sky boxing Just look at the Canelo fight last week and it was once again a failed attempt by me to get a casual friend watching and what do we see - Charlo making no attempt to win the fight and turning up for a paycheque. Ergo my mate won't be watching again and I wouldn't have the temerity to ask him to watch another boxing fight. He's buzzing to come over for this weeks big UFC card though.

You remind me so much of Martin Dobbing … Thepocketrocket

[jwfg]

Boxing is dead in the water.

No it is not.

[Ricky]

Boxing is dead in the water.

No it is not.

Yes it is, the major networks aren't interested, the events gaining the most interest are youtube guys that are fighting because they insult each others girlfriends on Twitter, and the heavyweight champion of the world is about to have a fight with a debutant in Saudi Arabia. It's a tragic state of affairs.

[jwfg]

Boxing is dead in the water.

No it is not.

Yes it is, the major networks aren't interested, the events gaining the most interest are youtube guys that are fighting because they insult each others girlfriends on Twitter, and the heavyweight champion of the world is about to have a fight with a debutant in Saudi Arabia. It's a tragic state of affairs.

Behave. Boxing is a minority sport and always has been. The broadcasters will change, but the game will remain.

[Ricky]

No it is not.

Yes it is, the major networks aren't interested, the events gaining the most interest are youtube guys that are fighting because they insult each others girlfriends on Twitter, and the heavyweight champion of the world is about to have a fight with a debutant in Saudi Arabia. It's a tragic state of affairs.

Behave. Boxing is a minority sport and always has been. The broadcasters will change, but the game will remain.

Don't tell me to behave.

[jwfg]

Yes it is, the major networks aren't interested, the events gaining the most interest are youtube guys that are fighting because they insult each others girlfriends on Twitter, and the heavyweight champion of the world is about to have a fight with a debutant in Saudi Arabia. It's a tragic state of affairs.

Behave. Boxing is a minority sport and always has been. The broadcasters will change, but the game will remain.

Don't tell me to behave.

Behave.

[handsofstone]

Showtime been fleecing fans for bang average PPVs for years now , Al Haymon has ruined every platform he's been involved with, DAZN and Amazon should think twice before doing business with him, let PBC rot then pick up the pieces, they have talent sure but their business model is pay fighters way to much by making everything ppv then have them sit on sidelines for 2 years, Jaron Ennis has wasted his whole career with they charlatans

[jwfg]

Showtime been fleecing fans for bang average PPVs for years now , Al Haymon has ruined every platform he's been involved with, DAZN and Amazon should think twice before doing business with him, let PBC rot then pick up the pieces, they have talent sure but their business model is pay fighters way to much by making everything ppv then have them sit on sidelines for 2 years, Jaron Ennis has wasted his whole career with they charlatans

Exactly right, sir.

[MightyWarrior]

Don’t worry, a young Tyson type figure is shadowboxing somewhere in oblivion and will get the whole world interested again

“Nothing will kill boxing, and nothing can save it…”

— Larry Merchant.