Saturday Fight Night Memories

[Jimmy2020]

Just reminiscing. Who has been around long enough to remember when Saturday Fight Night was on pretty much every week of the year? Fronted by Paul Dempsey with Barry and Jim in the studio. Glen and Ian on commentary. Adam Smith at ringside.

Used to love those Saturday evenings 20 years or so ago. If I wasn't at the shows, I always got the chippy and settled in for the evening. Sky were at their best then.

[Fray Bentos]

Even before then! Remember the presenter Gary Norman - my dad liked listening to him because he reminded him of a young Michael Caine

What I did like in those days was the boxing on RTL - the German channel which had a lot of Axel Schulz and of course Henry Maske and the massive build ups (albeit in German...) and the live Eurosport cards where Steve Holdsworth would clear his throat live on air to start the commentary - some great cards from all around Europe!

[TheGman]

Just reminiscing. Who has been around long enough to remember when Saturday Fight Night was on pretty much every week of the year? Fronted by Paul Dempsey with Barry and Jim in the studio. Glen and Ian on commentary. Adam Smith at ringside.

Used to love those Saturday evenings 20 years or so ago. If I wasn't at the shows, I always got the chippy and settled in for the evening. Sky were at their best then.

Ye I loved it,then Adam Smith got hold of the reigns jumped into bed with Bazza and Eddie and fcked boxing in thi country,yes british boxing has been booming for a few years but not without an added cost. I hate sky boxing atm and cant wait for dazn

[Jimmy2020]

@Carlos Yes RTL and Eurosport were both great back then, too. Aswell as all the euro based stuff, Cedric Kushner's 'Heavyweight Explosion' was aired on Eurosport and provided decent midweek entertainment. Remember that? It's crap now in comparison.

[Jimmy2020]

Just reminiscing. Who has been around long enough to remember when Saturday Fight Night was on pretty much every week of the year? Fronted by Paul Dempsey with Barry and Jim in the studio. Glen and Ian on commentary. Adam Smith at ringside.

Used to love those Saturday evenings 20 years or so ago. If I wasn't at the shows, I always got the chippy and settled in for the evening. Sky were at their best then.

Ye I loved it,then Adam Smith got hold of the reigns jumped into bed with Bazza and Eddie and fcked boxing in thi country,yes british boxing has been booming for a few years but not without an added cost. I hate sky boxing atm and cant wait for dazn

Adam has had his hand forced to a large extent. He loves boxing passionately. I was in the gym many moons ago when he came to interview somebody or other when he was first getting going. Even though he didn't look like your typical boxing person you could see he was well briefed and driven. I actually expected that he'd have moved up the ranks of Sky even further than he has. I suspect that he hasn't because he loves his job and the sport so much he'd rather stay put than reach his absolute career potential. Good on him for that if I'm right.

In short, it's not his fault we are where we are. It is Hearn's and Sky bean counters. Smith has done a good job overall. His major fault is choosing some of the pundits he's brought in.

[Fray Bentos]

@Carlos Yes RTL and Eurosport were both great back then, too. Aswell as all the euro based stuff, Cedric Kushner's 'Heavyweight Explosion' was aired on Eurosport and provided decent midweek entertainment. Remember that? It's crap now in comparison.

The stuff from America was excellent, got to see some really good fighters/fights on those cards!

I remember seeing Garing Lane chinning Alex Garcia on there and being upset for days afterwards! Told everyone he was going to be the next world heavyweight champion!

[mickey1975]

It was Screensport in the early days, Naz was even on it on a Tuesday. The first channel to show undercards.
No mention of early Sky Sports can go without mentioning Big Gary Mason.

[Jimmy2020]

On Eddie Hearn: he is a great promoter. The best there's been in this country IMO. He's just not that good for the purists (like me and a good few others on here). We are dinosaurs. Back when it was good for us, it was only okay for fighters. I know exactly what fighters then were earning. There were lots of them on telly, earning a bit selling tickets (a few earned big money of course). Now there aren't as many shows but the money some fighters who are decent, but far from great, are earning is huge in comparison. If Tony Bellew, for example, had been at his peak 20 years earlier than he was, I bet he wouldn't have earned a 20th of what he has.

[mickey1975]

I know exactly what a guy got offered on a Sky show five years after another one and it was less than half for the same sort of fight. Hearn was the small payer.

[Jimmy2020]

I know exactly what a guy got offered on a Sky show five years after another one and it was less than half for the same sort of fight. Hearn was the small payer.

What type of fight? With Hearn if you are the headliner you get paid extremely well. If you are not you need to push to become the headliner. Nothing wrong with that.

Frank always paid everybody on the card decent money but not mega money (with a few exceptions as always).

[mickey1975]

I know exactly what a guy got offered on a Sky show five years after another one and it was less than half for the same sort of fight. Hearn was the small payer.

What type of fight? With Hearn if you are the headliner you get paid extremely well. If you are not you need to push to become the headliner. Nothing wrong with that.

Frank always paid everybody on the card decent money but not mega money (with a few exceptions as always).

4x3’s, it was double. In the wrong corner.

[Jimmy2020]

[mickey1975]

Duff would pay for the right fighter. Never heard good stories about maloney. Always fine with journeymen, but not too clever with his own lads!

[Terminator666]

Remember “ screen sport” some good boxing there too

[Jimmy2020]

Duff would pay for the right fighter. Never heard good stories about maloney. Always fine with journeymen, but not too clever with his own lads!

Henry must have earned okay? He shifted bucket loads of tickets.

[mickey1975]

Duff would pay for the right fighter. Never heard good stories about maloney. Always fine with journeymen, but not too clever with his own lads!

Henry must have earned okay? He shifted bucket loads of tickets.

He did a lot better than Benn will tonight after 15 fights! Stadium, BBC live.... he hasn’t told me the ins and outs but he said any purse bid was always high because nobody wanted to come to Yorkshire. His mam did his tickets.

[Frostieballs]

Saturday Fight Nights. Mum, dad, me, a can of Diet Coke, crisps and chocolate. Happy days.

[Jimmy2020]

Saturday Fight Nights. Mum, dad, me, a can of Diet Coke, crisps and chocolate. Happy days.

Simple but brilliant. Best of days.

[maverick23]

Just reminiscing. Who has been around long enough to remember when Saturday Fight Night was on pretty much every week of the year? Fronted by Paul Dempsey with Barry and Jim in the studio. Glen and Ian on commentary. Adam Smith at ringside.

Used to love those Saturday evenings 20 years or so ago. If I wasn't at the shows, I always got the chippy and settled in for the evening. Sky were at their best then.

Ye I loved it,then Adam Smith got hold of the reigns jumped into bed with Bazza and Eddie and fcked boxing in thi country,yes british boxing has been booming for a few years but not without an added cost. I hate sky boxing atm and cant wait for dazn

I think we tend to look back with rose tinted glasses. There were some amazing and exciting fights - I’ve got signed posters in my office at home of Moore/Macklin, Arthur/Gomez and Hatton/Tszyu - but there was also an awful lot of really poor shows in there too from most of the promoters. There were many shows with just a commonwealth title fight headlining and a load of mismatches on the undercard.

The one area that I don’t think we got as much of anymore is good quality British title fights on Sky. Hearn seems more inclined to either bypass the British title route for his fighters or have them not stay there too long which is a shame. I would have much rather seen Lerrone Richards fight Willy Hutchinson than see him in an 8 rounder followed by an international fight.

[maverick23]

On Eddie Hearn: he is a great promoter. The best there's been in this country IMO. He's just not that good for the purists (like me and a good few others on here). We are dinosaurs. Back when it was good for us, it was only okay for fighters. I know exactly what fighters then were earning. There were lots of them on telly, earning a bit selling tickets (a few earned big money of course). Now there aren't as many shows but the money some fighters who are decent, but far from great, are earning is huge in comparison. If Tony Bellew, for example, had been at his peak 20 years earlier than he was, I bet he wouldn't have earned a 20th of what he has.

I think you’re probably right re: Bellew. It’s amazing how much he achieved, and put away in the bank, given his ability.

The other thing that is a plus for me with Matchroom is that there isn’t much, if any based on their cash reserves, risk of non-payment. Over the years there have been lots of examples of fighters not being paid on time or in full but that, as far as I’m aware, hasn’t happened with Eddie - boxers have been paid in full and on time which certainly isn’t a bad thing.

I’m also not aware of him ever being involved with legal disputes with any of his fighters whilst FW and recently Cyclone have spent a great deal of money on lawyers.

[Jimmy2020]

On Eddie Hearn: he is a great promoter. The best there's been in this country IMO. He's just not that good for the purists (like me and a good few others on here). We are dinosaurs. Back when it was good for us, it was only okay for fighters. I know exactly what fighters then were earning. There were lots of them on telly, earning a bit selling tickets (a few earned big money of course). Now there aren't as many shows but the money some fighters who are decent, but far from great, are earning is huge in comparison. If Tony Bellew, for example, had been at his peak 20 years earlier than he was, I bet he wouldn't have earned a 20th of what he has.

I think you’re probably right re: Bellew. It’s amazing how much he achieved, and put away in the bank, given his ability.

The other thing that is a plus for me with Matchroom is that there isn’t much, if any based on their cash reserves, risk of non-payment. Over the years there have been lots of examples of fighters not being paid on time or in full but that, as far as I’m aware, hasn’t happened with Eddie - boxers have been paid in full and on time which certainly isn’t a bad thing.

I’m also not aware of him ever being involved with legal disputes with any of his fighters whilst FW and recently Cyclone have spent a great deal of money on lawyers.

The Hearns are accountants through and through, For all the Essex bluster, which is front, they are actually boring, bean counters and I mean that in a positive way. They look at the numbers first and last. In between they hype things up but they'd be very reluctant to get drawn into legal disputes because such matters are usually driven by pride and greed and cost money more often than not, win or lose. Frank had legal training and has never been shy of going down that route. With him I get the feeling it's vocational as much as anything and he enjoys the fight/challenge of it. Different personalities.

[Cholo_cws]

Just reminiscing. Who has been around long enough to remember when Saturday Fight Night was on pretty much every week of the year? Fronted by Paul Dempsey with Barry and Jim in the studio. Glen and Ian on commentary. Adam Smith at ringside.

Used to love those Saturday evenings 20 years or so ago. If I wasn't at the shows, I always got the chippy and settled in for the evening. Sky were at their best then.

Ye I loved it,then Adam Smith got hold of the reigns jumped into bed with Bazza and Eddie and fcked boxing in thi country,yes british boxing has been booming for a few years but not without an added cost. I hate sky boxing atm and cant wait for dazn

I think we tend to look back with rose tinted glasses. There were some amazing and exciting fights - I’ve got signed posters in my office at home of Moore/Macklin, Arthur/Gomez and Hatton/Tszyu - but there was also an awful lot of really poor shows in there too from most of the promoters. There were many shows with just a commonwealth title fight headlining and a load of mismatches on the undercard.

The one area that I don’t think we got as much of anymore is good quality British title fights on Sky. Hearn seems more inclined to either bypass the British title route for his fighters or have them not stay there too long which is a shame. I would have much rather seen Lerrone Richards fight Willy Hutchinson than see him in an 8 rounder followed by an international fight.

I agree. During lockdown Sky were showing some of Sky's boxing from 20 years ago ie IBO and WBF 'world title' fights promoted by Barry Hearn. Embarrassing stuff really.
Not sure what the future holds for the British Title. As much as I like the Golden Contract it's tying up top British contenders and making them unavailable for any potential British Title bout.

[mickey1975]

Dillian is British level. Fury and AJ are above.

[maverick23]

Ye I loved it,then Adam Smith got hold of the reigns jumped into bed with Bazza and Eddie and fcked boxing in thi country,yes british boxing has been booming for a few years but not without an added cost. I hate sky boxing atm and cant wait for dazn

I think we tend to look back with rose tinted glasses. There were some amazing and exciting fights - I’ve got signed posters in my office at home of Moore/Macklin, Arthur/Gomez and Hatton/Tszyu - but there was also an awful lot of really poor shows in there too from most of the promoters. There were many shows with just a commonwealth title fight headlining and a load of mismatches on the undercard.

The one area that I don’t think we got as much of anymore is good quality British title fights on Sky. Hearn seems more inclined to either bypass the British title route for his fighters or have them not stay there too long which is a shame. I would have much rather seen Lerrone Richards fight Willy Hutchinson than see him in an 8 rounder followed by an international fight.

I agree. During lockdown Sky were showing some of Sky's boxing from 20 years ago ie IBO and WBF 'world title' fights promoted by Barry Hearn. Embarrassing stuff really.
Not sure what the future holds for the British Title. As much as I like the Golden Contract it's tying up top British contenders and making them unavailable for any potential British Title bout.

Yeah - Barry Hearn had some of the worst shows of that era. Frank Maloney too. I remember Frank with David Haye. He won the European title and defended it at Altrincham Leisure Centre (crazy decision!)against Euro Journeyman Ismail Abdoul - it was awful and Haye coasted 12 rounds just to say he could do 12. The undercard was awful too with the highlight being Jamie Moore beating journeyman Mike Aloget.

FW was the only to regularly put on ‘big’ shows and whilst they occasionally had some great fights they also had plenty of WBO title fight mismatches and one side stacked cards.

The board need to push the British titles more and get them more active. They’re the best title in boxing and it’s a shame they don’t have the respect they deserve.

[maverick23]

On Eddie Hearn: he is a great promoter. The best there's been in this country IMO. He's just not that good for the purists (like me and a good few others on here). We are dinosaurs. Back when it was good for us, it was only okay for fighters. I know exactly what fighters then were earning. There were lots of them on telly, earning a bit selling tickets (a few earned big money of course). Now there aren't as many shows but the money some fighters who are decent, but far from great, are earning is huge in comparison. If Tony Bellew, for example, had been at his peak 20 years earlier than he was, I bet he wouldn't have earned a 20th of what he has.

I think you’re probably right re: Bellew. It’s amazing how much he achieved, and put away in the bank, given his ability.

The other thing that is a plus for me with Matchroom is that there isn’t much, if any based on their cash reserves, risk of non-payment. Over the years there have been lots of examples of fighters not being paid on time or in full but that, as far as I’m aware, hasn’t happened with Eddie - boxers have been paid in full and on time which certainly isn’t a bad thing.

I’m also not aware of him ever being involved with legal disputes with any of his fighters whilst FW and recently Cyclone have spent a great deal of money on lawyers.

The Hearns are accountants through and through, For all the Essex bluster, which is front, they are actually boring, bean counters and I mean that in a positive way. They look at the numbers first and last. In between they hype things up but they'd be very reluctant to get drawn into legal disputes because such matters are usually driven by pride and greed and cost money more often than not, win or lose. Frank had legal training and has never been shy of going down that route. With him I get the feeling it's vocational as much as anything and he enjoys the fight/challenge of it. Different personalities.

I agree fully. I’m accountant by trade too and I couldn’t imagine doing it any other way!

You may be right re: FW but if I remember correctly his lawyers went after him after the Ricky Burns case and he’s also phoenixed several companies over the years.