Just found out

Here's the BBC report

Hatton, Calzaghe and Khan on ITV

Promoter Frank Warren has signed a deal with ITV to bring professional boxing back to terrestrial television.

ITV will broadcast 20 shows a year, including IBF light welterweight champion Ricky Hatton and WBO super middleweight champion Joe Calzaghe.

The first show will feature the pro debut of Olympic hero Amir Khan (Reported to be against David Bailey).

Khan features on the undercard of Matt Skelton's British heavyweight title defence against Danny Williams at the Bolton Arena on 16 July.

On 23 July, British and Commonwealth super featherweight champion Alex Arthur will attempt to win the European title against Boris Sinitsin at Edinburgh's Meadowbank Stadium.

Warren spent 14 years at ITV, delivering some of the biggest names in British boxing including Frank Bruno, Nigel Benn and Naseem Hamed.

Just imagine what kind of figures exciting fighters like Hatton and Calzaghe will pull in

He and his Sports Network outfit moved to Sky Sports in 1995 but the return to ITV of new controller of sport Mark Sharman, a keen boxing fan, prompted Warren's return.

Warren said: "We saw the huge potential of boxing on ITV when we promoted the Amir Khan-Mario Kindelan rematch in May.

"It delivered fantastic TV ratings - to the tune of 6.3m viewers - that beat everything else that night and is the biggest Saturday night viewership this year.

"Just imagine what kind of figures exciting fighters like Ricky Hatton and Joe Calzaghe will pull in."

Also on Warren's books are WBO featherweight champion Scott Harrison and WBO cruiserweight king Johnny Nelson.

Mick Hennessy-promoted British, European and Commonwealth light welterweight champion Junior Witter will fight live on ITV on 9 July.

Meanwhile, Sky is to continue its commitment to boxing and will cherry-pick big fights.

I'm glad we have mainstream boxing back on ITV, its better that way. Although i'll see how it goes before i cancel my SkySports package.

whats ITV? is it like basic cable over in the UK or something

No ITV is a free channel but they stopped showing boxing on it around about the time of the Benn/McClellan fight so there's been a 10 year gap in their boxing coverage. BBC who are also free tried their hand in boxing recently but the shows were on too late for a lot of people and I don't think they did very well. I'd expect the ITV shows will be on at prime time and they have plenty of good fighters to feature so can't wait :boxing:

One things for sure, and that is that Chris Eubank won't be welcome back to do any commentating or anything like that :) He left ITV for Sky Sports in about 1993 and proceeded to slag ITV off in the press non-stop.

who would want to hear a man with a lysp commentate anyways :D

No ITV is a free channel but they stopped showing boxing on it around about the time of the Benn/McClellan fight so there's been a 10 year gap in their boxing coverage. BBC who are also free tried their hand in boxing recently but the shows were on too late for a lot of people and I don't think they did very well. I'd expect the ITV shows will be on at prime time and they have plenty of good fighters to feature so can't wait :boxing:

BBC is free?? :confused: I wish mate :D

Boxing on prime time terrestrial tv is nothing but GOOD for our sport.

BBC is free?? :confused: I wish mate :D

:confused: I don't get you bro, I've never had to pay to watch anything on that channel and you don't subscribe to it either so I'm as confused as you.

This has got to be some of the best news i have heard. Especially when it comes to promoting British Boxing within the UK, a dieing sport as many of you know.

Well done Frank, he knows his ****, and i say **** Sky for making such a fortune off what should be a right in this country to be able to watch sport for free. It should be the same for Premiership football aswell.

ITV is a free channel in the UK for those who dont know. In the UK we have:
-BBC 1
-BBC 2
-ITV
-Channel 4
-Channel 5 (depending on the area you live in).
However you can get a "freeview box" aswell, which is a one off payment of like £60 and then you get another like 25 channels, no monthly subscription. Anything additional to that is just money making on the part of Sky and Cable services. :mad:

who would want to hear a man with a lysp commentate anyways :D
Remember when he was an analyst for Sky? That was funny.

BBC is free?? :confused: I wish mate :D

Sorry bud I have been corrected :o

Yes!! Boxing. Back where it belongs. Dont forget Junior Witter on ITV as well. Anyone know if Danny Wiliiams fight will be shown on ITV or is it just the Khan fight?

Thank god for some boxing I can afford to watch, other than the east european bullock farmers rolled out by Eurosport oin a regular basis.

And BBC etc ain't free, you have to buy a television license by law. :mad:
Lol

My mate has no tv ariel, he just has a massive plasma screen and doesn't watch 'tele' and still they keep trying to prove he's getting a signal it's classic the lengths they go to try to make u pay, he's genuine too he's took his ariel down and everything, they are such dumb****s but this is excellent that itv is getting boxing again, hopefully this will force sky to show ALL the international action instead of just the bigger fights otherwise there will be loads of people like me that cancels the sports subs

Martin Watson To Fight Lee Meager On Junior Witter Undercard

Coatbridge’s Martin Watson has filled the vacancy of opponent needed for Lee Meager this Saturday on the Nottingham Arena show co-headlined by Junior Witter and Carl Froch.

27 year old Meager from Salford was due to face Liverpool’s David Burke in a British Lightweight title eliminator, but Burke withdrew because of a trapped nerve in his back. Meager has lost just once in 18 contests, a controversial English title points defeat against Danny Hunt.

Victory for Martin Watson then would certainly put him in the frame for a British title shot. The 24 year old Lightweight has also lost just once in 14 outings - a single point defeat to Steve Murray after recovering from a first round knockdown - and will be ready to unleash his “Hurricane” style on Meager despite taking the fight at short notice.

ITV2 will be showing the Witter and Froch fights live in a two hour show starting at 9.15pm, but how much (if any) of the undercard will feature remains to be seen.

If the 2 main fights end early then hopefully they'll show this as I've never seen Meager in a bad fight and Watson proved against Murray that he can dig deep in a hard fight so it should be good t.v. :boxing:

witter and froch this saturday on itv ?

on the tv license thing. apparently the tv license will be
abolished for a pc license. bet they do both cause thier

f**king greedy t**ts

Its On Itv2 Guys.

Its On Itv2 Guys.
top...we just got freeview

enjoy the fight then mate, though i have to say i find it hard to shout for junior.

odious little man is still banging on about hatton instead of worrying about his own performances.

site i write for wanted me to interview him in the past, i cant bring myself to do it. :D

from sporting life.

KHAN TO SPEARHEAD ITV RETURN
Amir Khan will lead British boxing back into terrestrial television when he makes his professional debut against David Bailey in Bolton later this month.

Khan's eagerly-awaited professional bow on July 16 will represent the start of a two-year, 20-fight deal agreed by promoter Frank Warren and ITV.

The network were sufficiently impressed with the 6.3million viewing figures that Khan's Olympic rematch with Mario Kindelan attracted in May.

And they will expect even bigger numbers when Warren's star names including Ricky Hatton, Joe Calzaghe and Scott Harrison fight in their prime-time Saturday night slots.

Warren said: "I feel the sport can now go from strength to strength and with so many new stars coming through, this is going to be a long-term plan.

"I am delighted to rejoin ITV where I spent 14 happy years delivering them the best fights in (Nigel) Benn, (Frank) Bruno and (Naseem) Hamed when the station was known as the home of British boxing.

"I am obviously sad to be leaving Sky after 10 years but I felt it was time for a change."

Warren had been in negotiations with interested parties for a number of months with his existing contract with Sky drawing to a close.

Clearly unhappy with the satellite channel's decision to move many fights to Friday nights, Warren's prospective turn back to terrestrial TV gained momentum.

Now he will relish the opportunity of building on the bigger platform provided for those star names like Khan and Hatton.

Warren added: "From ITV, I then spent 10 great years with Sky Sports and developed Ricky Hatton to public prominence through satellite television when many people said that it could not be done.

"We saw the huge potential of boxing on ITV when we promoted the Amir Khan-Mario Kindelan rematch in May and it delivered fantastic TV ratings that beat everything else that night and is the biggest Saturday night viewership this year.

"Just imagine what kind of figures exciting fighters like Ricky Hatton and Joe Calzaghe will pull in."

ITV will broadcast Junior Witter's European light-welterweight title defence against Andreas Kotelnik live from Nottingham next Saturday.

But afterwards the network will enter into its exclusive deal with Warren - starting with the Khan fight on the undercard of Matt Skelton's British heavyweight title fight against Danny Williams.

Khan has been handed a decent test against the 24-year-old Bailey, who has won three of his seven professional fights and is trained and managed in London by Eugene Maloney.

Bailey, who is yet to be stopped in his career, is considered a decent test for Khan's eagerly-awaited professional debut in his home town.

Maloney said: "I am surprised they took this fight because he is a tough and durable kid.

"David has looked good in sparring and he certainly has not taken this fight to fall over. He has ordered 100 tickets and he has taken this fight to win it."