James DeGale says he's take a 50% pay cut to box on the BBC

[dondada]

http://news.boxrec.com/news/2010/james- ... -fight-bbc

Very refreshing attitude. Boxing NEEDS to be on terrestrial telly if it is to thrive.

[JC]

I agree. I wonder what Sky will think of this comment.

[Glyn Leach]

Nice Ian. There's something likeable about DeGale, isn't there. Very good boxer, obviously, but there appears to be a bit of a thinker behind the bravado.

[Chambers2]

Nice Ian. There's something likeable about DeGale, isn't there. Very good boxer, obviously, but there appears to be a bit of a thinker behind the bravado.

Yeah I agree! He's full of shite and bluster, but he seems a nice kid

(Good article BTW)

[Alba]

http://news.boxrec.com/news/2010/james- ... -fight-bbc

Very refreshing attitude. Boxing NEEDS to be on terrestrial telly if it is to thrive.

james degale says a lot of things ,but i wouldent beleive this latest offering .good way to make him seem like one of the nice guys !

[lefty]

After reading that im starting to change my opinion on degale,I think he's one of those guys who acts cocky to hide his insecuritys but is a nice guy underneath it.Thats what it seems like anyway!So if that is the case then i wish him well!

[stevek3lly]

Got to admit it, came accross well in that interview. Still don't lik ehim though.

[Rocky Balboa]

IF Degale has indeed taken a 50% pay cut box on the BBC then my respect for him has gone up a notch!

[FIGHTFANs]

IF Degale has indeed taken a 50% pay cut box on the BBC then my respect for him has gone up a notch!

Pity he would not take one to box Groves

[JC]

http://news.boxrec.com/news/2010/james- ... -fight-bbc

Very refreshing attitude. Boxing NEEDS to be on terrestrial telly if it is to thrive.

james degale says a lot of things ,but i wouldent beleive this latest offering .good way to make him seem like one of the nice guys !

I don't think so.

It would make sense for Degale to take a pay cut to be on terrestrial because it's the route to mega millions. Bruno, Benn, Eubank and Naz all became household names through exposure on terrestrial TV before going on to make the big bucks later.

Not being on terrestrial early in his career is probably why it took Calzaghe so long to cross over to the mainstream.

[Chris W 1982]

Did Calzaghe ever cross over to the mainsream?

[JC]

Possibly not in the way of the others, but him winning BBC Sports Personality of the year is significant.

[Moshe_Crescas]

I agree with J-C.

90K is a good chunk for the fight versus Smith, more than I thought he'd be earning.

[Glyn Leach]

Did Calzaghe ever cross over to the mainsream?

Then I suppose we have to consider Frochy's case — a large part of his early career on BBC and ITV, even his world title winning fight was on terrestrial, but for all that I don't think Froch could be termed a crossover star.

Are we overstating the importance of terrestrial TV I wonder?

[Moshe_Crescas]

Did Calzaghe ever cross over to the mainsream?

Then I suppose we have to consider Frochy's case — a large part of his early career on BBC and ITV, even his world title winning fight was on terrestrial, but for all that I don't think Froch could be termed a crossover star.

Are we overstating the importance of terrestrial TV I wonder?

Terrestrial TV is the ideal launchpad for anybody wishing to make a name for themselves; but to become a genuine crossover star, you need a suitable personality. Froch, for a whole host of reasons, is not that type of beast.

[dbf]

I like James - he says what he feels and I think there is an element of him being quite shy behind the bravado. He came down to my amateur boxing last year and although I was on holiday all my boxers and the other coaches said him (and Jimmy Mac) were absolute gents.

I bumped into him in a shopping centre as well and he was happy for a chat and seemed like a young lad enjoying himself.

Its easy to knock prospects for not stepping up quick enough (Audley, Ricky and even Khan) but this is a big step up and very early in his career. Good luck to him - I guess on Decemeber 11th we'll see what he is made of.

[JamesH]

I like DeGale... I think he comes across well and is honest in his interviews, rather than just saying what is expected of him. Even when he does go with whats expected of him, he makes it obvious it is what he's doing. When asked on Ringside about Jeffries potential to win a world title, DeGale started his response with 'I'd better watch what I say because I don't want to get into trouble'....

He has a personality that some people will never warm to, but he's a nice kid and I find his braggadocio amusing rather than annoying. If Smigga was to beat him, which I don't think he will, then I'm sure De Gale would become more popular. For some strange reason that tends to be the British mindset in cases like these.

[JC]

Did Calzaghe ever cross over to the mainsream?

Then I suppose we have to consider Frochy's case — a large part of his early career on BBC and ITV, even his world title winning fight was on terrestrial, but for all that I don't think Froch could be termed a crossover star.

Are we overstating the importance of terrestrial TV I wonder?

I suppose it depends how committed to the sport the channel is. I can't remember exactly but didn't the BBC show Froch and Haye's early fights at funny times often not live?

[Chris W 1982]

Totally agree about Froch but I genuinly feel BBC were to blame in not making the Cobra a household name.

Harrison, Haye and Froch should have been the faces that the BBC placed their chips on and hung around the table until their number came in. Graveyard slots with little or no advertising ensured that almost anyone outside the die-hard boxing community would not have known these guys were fighting unless they were channel surfing.

I dont know the exact amount of money that was spent on the aforementioned names but I'd go as far to say that no more than 5% of the initial sum was spent promoting their investment.

BBC dropped the ball big times if you ask me.

[Glyn Leach]

Terrestrial TV is the ideal launchpad for anybody wishing to make a name for themselves; but to become a genuine crossover star, you need a suitable personality. Froch, for a whole host of reasons, is not that type of beast.

I take your point, Frochy's personality is a bit marmite, but it's a bit distressing that an exciting fighter, who won a world title in the fight of the year on terrestrial TV, isn't more popular as a result.

Then there's Haye. Always been exciting, always came across well in interviews when on the BBC, unifies part of the cruiser title, but could only draw 8000 (optimistically) on a two-for-one ticket offer for the Barrett fight, in his own backyard. Crossover since beating Valuev, for sure, but terrestrial exposure didn't appear to have done much for him to that point. Haye, to me, has always been very marketable, he had the exposure, but it wasn't enough to make him 'click' prior to Valuev, despite his considerable achievements up to that point. Sometimes I wonder what it takes for a fighter to cross over these days.

[Moshe_Crescas]

Terrestrial TV is the ideal launchpad for anybody wishing to make a name for themselves; but to become a genuine crossover star, you need a suitable personality. Froch, for a whole host of reasons, is not that type of beast.

I take your point, Frochy's personality is a bit marmite, but it's a bit distressing that an exciting fighter, who won a world title in the fight of the year on terrestrial TV, isn't more popular as a result.

Then there's Haye. Always been exciting, always came across well in interviews when on the BBC, unifies part of the cruiser title, but could only draw 8000 (optimistically) on a two-for-one ticket offer for the Barrett fight, in his own backyard. Crossover since beating Valuev, for sure, but terrestrial exposure didn't appear to have done much for him to that point. Haye, to me, has always been very marketable, he had the exposure, but it wasn't enough to make him 'click' prior to Valuev, despite his considerable achievements up to that point. Sometimes I wonder what it takes for a fighter to cross over these days.

What about more Friday night fights? Saturdays (and Sundays) are fully booked with the bupkes 'entertainment' offerings from both the BBC and ITV. For whatever reason the greater part of the nation is fully locked on to X-Factor and Strictly and nothing else gets a look in.

[Chris W 1982]

The only fighter who emerged from the BBC flirtation with his reputation massively enhanced for the right reasons was David Walker.

[orbtastic]

Terrestrial TV is the ideal launchpad for anybody wishing to make a name for themselves; but to become a genuine crossover star, you need a suitable personality. Froch, for a whole host of reasons, is not that type of beast.

I take your point, Frochy's personality is a bit marmite, but it's a bit distressing that an exciting fighter, who won a world title in the fight of the year on terrestrial TV, isn't more popular as a result.

Then there's Haye. Always been exciting, always came across well in interviews when on the BBC, unifies part of the cruiser title, but could only draw 8000 (optimistically) on a two-for-one ticket offer for the Barrett fight, in his own backyard. Crossover since beating Valuev, for sure, but terrestrial exposure didn't appear to have done much for him to that point. Haye, to me, has always been very marketable, he had the exposure, but it wasn't enough to make him 'click' prior to Valuev, despite his considerable achievements up to that point. Sometimes I wonder what it takes for a fighter to cross over these days.

It's a gradual, word of mouth thing.

Haye's gradual exposure has been minimal.

[Glyn Leach]

It's a gradual, word of mouth thing.

Haye's gradual exposure has been minimal.

Because of Haye's very gradual career development, I suppose. He's never been an overly active fighter at any point, not in the way that a Benn or Eubank was on the way up, and I think you need to be to create a buzz. I think where Haye is concerned it was all there for the taking, he just didn't take it. His prerogative I suppose.

[orbtastic]

It's a gradual, word of mouth thing.

Haye's gradual exposure has been minimal.

Because of Haye's very gradual career development, I suppose. He's never been an overly active fighter at any point, not in the way that a Benn or Eubank was on the way up, and I think you need to be to create a buzz. I think where Haye is concerned it was all there for the taking, he just didn't take it. His prerogative I suppose.

Yeah, his career is odd.

Was on the BBC, then SKY in exciting fights, on the cusp of a world title shot then goes to
fighting in a gymnasium in Paris with no UK TV coverage until the 11th hour (literally the day before?) with 8 fans watching him winning his world titles (on setanta? I can't remember, I watched it on Canal+/live)
He got 20,000 or so to watch him smash Macca at 2am (to Satisfy Showtime?) in the morning in the arsehole of London then he can
barely scrape 8,000 with some weird ticket deal watch him fight a fringe heavyweight (on setanta)
then does pretty well on SKY Box Office beating Valuev
then crams the MEN headlining and the place is buzzing, lots of new fans etc

If it's exposure then it's really not as a result of his TV deals, he couldn't have contrived it any worse in terms of viewers. The difference in "fans" between Mormeck and Macca is vast..what happened between then? Winning world titles, away from home I suppose but he didn't get huge amounts of coverage in the national press and most people still don't know what cruiserweight is.