ITV boxing

[stujones]

Going off on one here, but I was just thinking (makes a change) -

Assuming Hatton never fights for Warren/ITV again. Do you think ITV will force Warren, or Warren will feel the need, to push some of his fighters into world title fights in order to get back some glamour for the ITV shows. Because Hatton was going to be on a par, if not more so after the zoo fight, than sicknote in terms of audience pulling par. Now he's gone, that leaves sicknote Harrison as the only passible world title headliners - for ITV1 at least.

So, will Warren feel the need to produce another world title holder. If so, will he persist with the WBU, which was barely passible when attached even to the huge talents of Hatton, so I don't see, for example, Michael Jennings holding down a prime time show with a WBU title fight. Will he go for WBO titles, or 'big 3' titles?

Its a damn good question, although I think we would have to know the ins and outs of ITV's boxing deal to answer. Still hasn't been confirmed or denied if ITV can deal with other promoters. Who knows if ITV cannot deal with Punch promotions after the Maussa fight (I read the FA deal is a one off).

If the answer is that ITV only deals with Warren and can only deal with Warren, then of course it will depend on how Warren pitches his new (minus) Hatton strategy. I think there are a few fighters who might in a few years win a major version of the world title (Arthur, Jennings etc) but they are not ready now. It will depend if ITV1 will hype the WBU as a world title as they did when they had Neary/Dunne a few years back. If not, then I think Sports Network fighters will have to be rushed.

[jomothepure]

KOJoe's post has reminded of a better example than Jennings.

Skelton - Warren's short term investment given the age. But, if you take the British heavyweight champ to still be the blue ribbon in Joe Public's eyes, could Warren be tempted to do something fast there?

King and Warren do seem to be sleeping together again, what with Judah-Hatton anyway. Maybe Skelton could be fed to Ruiz or Byrd (sorry, but I think that's what would happen) or maybe Skelton-Krasniqi if the latter beats Brewster? That would certainly get on ITV1. Obviously there's a lot of bumps in that one being made though

[nickd]

Aren't times hard, we've got sky putting on more 50-50 matches in the next few months than they have done in the last few years, we've got boxing back on terrestrial television on Saturday nights with proper promotion as to when the programme will be on. Of course the ITV presentation will involve a lot of background to the fighters, the magority of viewers won't have a clue and it build interest. ITV are also willing to put fights that aren't big enough for ITV on ITV2 so we don't miss anything. And how can anyone have a problem with Sky showing the Woods fight?

We're a lot, lot better off than we were 6 months ago.

that's what i said at the beginning of this thread - about the boxing on Sky being good. since warren took his fighters over to ITV we've been getting loads of better fights; it's the ITV ones that are sucking. Before Warren went, we seldom got good fights unless they had something to do with Hatton, Calzaghe and Harrison. Since (and even a bit before) we've had some fine international fights on Sky quite regularly.

There's a pattern here.

Warren has all his fighters on Sky and most of the Sky TV dates, Sky churns out mostly shit for a number of years. Warren takes his fighters to ITV, Sky shows are now good and ITV is a load of shit.

Have you spotted it yet?

[THEBUTCH]

Exactly! Sky seem to be sorting their act out.

I noticed someone saying the Sky TV schedule made poor reading a week or two back, but look at it now. 5 pages of quality fights in Britain and abroad. Moore v Walker and Anderson v Okine should both be belters and these follow Dann v Elcock, which followed Woods v Gonzalez. Warren can't compete with that.