BoxRec

More viewers watched Top Rank’s boxing show live on ESPN last weekend than the card it aired the previous Saturday night.

Nielsen Media Research figures released Tuesday stated Top Rank’s doubleheader Saturday night from Philadelphia averaged 655,000 viewers. The telecast peaked at 832,000 viewers during the main event – WBC light heavyweight champion Oleksandr Gvozdyk’s fifth-round, technical-knockout victory over Doudou Ngumbu at 2300 Arena.

Top Rank’s prior doubleheader attracted an average of just 510,000 viewers March 23 from The Hangar in Costa Mesa, California. That card, headlined by heavyweight contender Kubrat Pulev’s seventh-round knockout of Bogdan Dinu, attracted much more attention after it aired due to a controversy caused by Pulev kissing Las Vegas Sports Daily reporter Jennifer Ravalo at the end of a recorded interview in Pulev’s dressing room (https://www.BS.com/pulev-i-nev ... os--137589).

Top Rank’s two-hour show Saturday night benefited from a strong lead-in, a three-hour UFC show from Philadelphia that averaged 828,000 viewers. The UFC and Top Rank shows each had to contend with strong sports competition on television from NCAA men’s basketball tournament games broadcast by CBS and TBS.

Good numbers.. especially compared to Pulev.

I think that this fight card had a later starting time than many of the TR/ESPN telecasts.

Most have started at 5 pm Pacific. This began at 7 pm.

May have had something to do with the excellent numbers.

I don't see Gvozdyk as a big attraction at this time, and the fight itself wasn't expected to be competitive.

So the later starting time and the MMA lead-in may be the answer.

Do you know what the overall numbers were for the MMA in comparison to the boxing.