BoxRec

Sam Flood of Football Night in America fame will be the executive producer -- but it's investing in new camera technology that hasn't been used before that should give the audience an unprecedented insight into the action.

Flood told Yahoo Sports Thursday that he will incorporate the use of a 360-degree camera dubbed "Round-a-Bout" that will give a broader view of punches and fighter movement than has ever been done previously. It will actually be 32-remote controlled cameras mounted above the ring that, similar to the 1999 movie, "The Matrix," will allow viewers to see what happens from every side and angle.

Flood said that at least at the beginning, he'll utilize it and the ref-cam mostly for replays. But eventually, he'll increase usage as he gets more comfortable with it and finds different ways to incorporate it into the broadcast.

NBC has been testing it and has been pleased with the results. During the Stanley Cup Final last year, he tried to put a pair of Google Glasses on one of the referees, but didn't talk about it prior because he wasn't sure how it would work. As the game unfolded, he realized it wasn't a fit and that shot never made it on the air.
But he's been thrilled with what he's seen so far from the "Round-a-Bout."

"The cool thing about this is being able to look at a punch from all different angles," Flood said. "To be able to zoom around in that Matrix-top style, it's going to make a huge difference for the viewer because you're going to see from behind the fighter and then where the punch is landing.

"It'll spin around with real clarity, and so it's going to explain a lot of things. Shots that you think might not have made it, or did make it, well, we'll have no question what's happened, because there will be this single image without cutting between cameras. You're going to nail it."

Boxing Prospect wrote:Think ESPN tried ref cam, some pro wrestling did too...didn't really work

ReggieDiggs wrote:

Boxing Prospect wrote:Think ESPN tried ref cam, some pro wrestling did too...didn't really work

How didn't it work? Idk how a ref cam wouldn't be awesome for stoppage fights in particular. The ref gots the best "seat" in the house.

You recall when ESPN tried it? Any particular fights?

Boxing Prospect wrote:

ReggieDiggs wrote:

Boxing Prospect wrote:Think ESPN tried ref cam, some pro wrestling did too...didn't really work

How didn't it work? Idk how a ref cam wouldn't be awesome for stoppage fights in particular. The ref gots the best "seat" in the house.

You recall when ESPN tried it? Any particular fights?

Was disorientating iirc, I thought it would be good but really didn't work very well. The ref has a great seat, his head however doesn't make a great place for a camera given that he moves a lot.

Blodhemn wrote:Will Lana Wachowski be a ring card girl or Haymon's main squeeze?

Boxing Prospect wrote:Panasonic have released a recent video of Akifumi Shimoda using some similar technology to the ref cam. It still makes me feel ill.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FL3px_6rP20