BoxRec

I do have to thank this television station. Recently, hosted by Brian Kenny and aided by Bert Sugar and others (amongs whom, there were Angelo Dundee, Carmen Basilio and George Chuvalo), they have shown a wealth of important fights of the past.

While to the majority of you guys, this occurrence may be a common thing, to me, living virtually in a pugilistic desert, the screening of these bouts is a godsent!

Today I saw Dempsey winning the world title, most of the first Tunney v Dempsey fight, the long count round of the second, both Louis-Schmelling matches and the third Zale-Graziano war.

WOW! Those were fighting men.

So did you just get ESPN? If so within the next two years you will see the exact same fights over and over and over and you will grow to despise the manner in which they repeat the same fights. It’s great when you first get it, but it honestly does not take them long to alienate a fan…the big three that they have shown time and again are of course Ali, Tyson and Foreman. They tried to change things up during the last year and actually started showing a lot of fights that they had not shown before, but it was fights that took place from 2000 thru 2006 and they called it "classic boxing." ESPN has a gigantic fight library, the largest in the world which is absolutely full of old fights, enough old fights that they could probably start a boxing channel and show a different fight every day of the week for five to ten years straight, but instead they will show Muhammad Ali 25% of the time during the ten years, which I love to watch Ali, but ESPN Classic has completely took the route of overkill with a very small group of fighters..

Other than all the old greats and the other usual suspects, I would like to see some of the “T.V. Ringside” program that was on the air in Australia from July 1966 to June 1975 in which there was a total of 319 boxing programs and 2870 total bouts with 1450 fights that were put on the air with such fighters like Tony Mundine, Hector Thompson and Rocky Mattioli to name a few.

A great series, which I suppose was the Aussie version of Gillette Fight Series. ESPN has 1000s upon 1000s of fights, old fights and they are just sitting on them letting everything collect dust, which is a shame…they should at least make copies of the fights available to the public for a decent price.

Totally concur with this Barry. I wish I had penny for every time they have shown Tyson vs Mike Jamison. I remember a few years back either CBS or NBC can't remember which had their own version of classic fights and they would show fights like Carlos Monzon vs Rodrigo Valdez, but it was short lived and now they don't have any boxing on regular network t.v.

Thank you for the insight into the station policy, fellas!

I actually have been subscribing to ESPN for a couple of years, but it has been only in the last few weeks that I have been noticing these boxing programmes. I don't know whether they have only started screening them to Australia recently, or, on the other hand, I have been missing them.

They certainly have shown enough of Ali's life to last me for while: A multipart series that covered most of his career was very much appreciated, although being still so vivid in my mind, I did not have to see it to relive Muhammad's magic moments.

I did enjoy was they showed of the great Sugar Ray though: Some of his bouts I had never seen.

And yesterday's programme with the variety of fighters shown was just what the doctor ordered to wash away this end of winter's blues.

Undoubtedly, the time will come, when, the same as you, I will be fed up of replay, upon replay, upon replay: For the moment, I have everything to gain from it.

I find it interesting that some of you are aware that some thirty years ago, every Monday night, Melbourne's channel 9 screened TV Ringside. It was presented by a wonderful broadcaster, the late Ron Casey, and it followed on the raise of popularity of the sport in Australia thanks to the success of Lionel Rose and Johnny Famechon, whom, I am sure you'll remember, became world champions by beating Fighting Harada and Jose` Legra, for the bantamweight and featherweight respectively.

It first programme could not have had a worst beginning: The main bout finished in the first round, jus as patrons were settling down with a can of beer in their hand, when Kimpo Amarfio, a tough son of a gun from Ghana, knocked out I cannot remember whom any longer, in under three minutes: At lest it proved that boxing was "real", in as much that Aussie TV was still being swamped by popular wrestilng shows, where Killer Kowalski, Buddy Austin, Dominic De Nucci and company where being regarded as royalty.

Soon names as Tony Mundine, Kahu Mahanga, Hector Thompson and a host of others became familiar faces and names on Aussie TV.

My particular favourite was Manny Santos, a beautifully balanced lightweight, fighting out of New Zealand but with some Tongan connections. He was what you could call, a complete fighter-boxer, with a lovely kit of punches, who rose as far as the lightweight British Commonwealth Title, before being forced to relinquish it, because of some troubles to his eyes.

Nowaday, there isn't much happening, boxing wise, in Australia. With the demise of the Russian born Kosta Tzoyu (I am sure I mispelled his name, but what the hell.... ), there's no one coming up that has caught the public imagination. Anthony Mundine, the son of Tony, formerly world rated middleweight, is a braggart who does not have the class to go to better things, although he has fought for one of today's worthless championships and lost. But still, he loves to boast.....

Never mind: Boxing has been on its last legs as long as I have been following it: It will survive long after I have gone!