Brown on PBC: We're Giving Fans What They Want and Expect

By Jake Donovan

Regardless of where you stand in the political divide – whether you’re compelled to thank Al Haymon, or scoff at the mere mention of his name - there was no question that there was plenty to gain from the boxing action provided from both U.S. coasts over the weekend.

For the second time in the span of three weekends, the high-powered adviser aligned broadcasts on what essentially are two rival companies. The evening for stateside boxing fans began on free-to-air Fox, whose second primetime installment of Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) featured four knockouts, all in fights designed for the winner looking at a bright future without having to wonder what is the next step.

Leading the pack, Andre Berto climbed off the canvas to knock out Victor Ortiz in a main event rematch to their Fight of the Year thriller in 2011. The win will potentially lead towards one more title bid for the former welterweight beltholder.

“We're giving the fans in the United States what they want and expect,” TGB Promotions’ Tom Brown – who served as lead promoter for the PBC on Fox Show – told BoxingScene.com over the weekend. “Saturday night's fights at the StubHub Center and in Washington D.C. were compelling and action-packed from start to finish.

“On FOX TV in the US we had four televised knockout finishes each with a continued story line. Andre Berto can face (unbeaten welterweight titlist) Danny Garcia or the winner of Keith Thurman vs. Shawn Porter or any of the top welterweights after his sensational knockout of Victor Ortiz in the rematch that fans finally got to see.

In the co-feature, Thomas Williams Jr’s sensational 2nd round knockout of Edwin Rodriguez provided fans plenty over which to salivate ahead of a promised crack at World light heavyweight champ Adonis Stevenson later this year.

Also on the show: unbeaten featherweight prospect Jorge Lara starched his longtime idol, former three division champ Fernando Montiel in just over 90 seconds of ring action; while 19-year old David Benavidez continues his climb as a light heavyweight to watch following a vicious 2nd round knockout of Phillip Jackson.

“Thomas Williams Jr. wants the title shot against Adonis Stevenson,” Brown notes of the carrot that dangled over the evening’s co-feature attraction. “His highlight reel knockout of Edwin Rodriguez - who have never been stopped – proved to viewers that deserves it.

“Jorge Lara proved once again that he is a force of at featherweight after this first round stoppage of Fernando Montiel. David Benavidez showed that he is one of the best prospects in boxing and potentially a future world champion at 175.”

The same theory of building momentum toward the future was applied to the Showtime Championship Boxing doubleheader which immediately followed. James DeGale and Badou Jack both defended their super middleweight titles to build towards a unification bout later this year, whether in the U.S. or on DeGale’s United Kingdom home soil.

“In Washington D.C, James DeGale was in a real back-and-forth fight with Rogelio ‘Porky’ Medina which kicked off the Showtime card. With his win over Medina and Beau Jack retainied his title against Lucian Bute in another excellent fight,” Brown points out. “Now in the U.S., we have a great super middleweight unification fight.

“That fight doesn't take place without DeGale having fought in North America on three separate occasions with wins over Andre Dirrell, Lucian Bute and Medina.”

DeGale is one of several fighters affiliated both with adviser Al Haymon and U.K. promotional giant Matchroom Boxing, although his exact status with the latter came into question during fight week.

The first-ever boxer in history to win an Olympic Gold medal for Great Britain (2008) and a world title in the pro ranks, DeGale has spent his last three fights in North America. The road trip began with his vacant title winning effort over Andre Dirrell last May in Boston, Mass, which headlined the first afternoon edition of PBC on NBC following two previous primetime offerings from the network.

Each of his two title defenses have aired live on Showtime – a 12-round win over Bute last November in Canada, followed by his aforementioned victory over Medina last weekend in D.C.

Where exactly his next fight will take place was a hot conversation topic immediately following the Showtime main event, where Jack was held to a disputed draw in a fight most felt he won by a considerable margin. Regardless, it was still enough to move forward with unification plans, although both have stated a willingness to fight in the other’s backyard but preferring to fight on their own home soil.

Eddie Hearn - who heads Matchroom Boxing – promised a massive-sized check awaits Jack should he agree to travel abroad. The offer comes on the heels of his having teased a future business relationship with Mayweather Promotions (Jack’s promoter), which followed earlier stateside business in his looking to secure a long-term U.S. network deal for his prized heavyweight, 2012 Olympic Gold medalist and newly crowned heavyweight titlist Anthony Joshua in addition to the exclusive deal he and Matchroom enjoys with Sky Sports and its Pay-Per-View arm.

A busy week didn’t prevent the red-hot promoter from coming up for air long enough to talk to press on hand in D.C. prior to the Showtime card. During such time, he expressed his disapproval of the PBC model - despite his own fighters (DeGale, Ricky Burns, Jamie McDonnell, Lee Selby) enjoying wins and/or favorable praise in its participation on such circuit - yet while also defending the choice of Dominic Breazeale as the opponent for Joshua’s first heavyweight title defense on June 25 at O2 Arena in London.

The forthcoming clash comes on the heels of his belt-snatching 2nd round knockout of Charles Martin this past April, which also took place at O2 Arena. Breazeale and Martin are both advised by Haymon, both of whom have previously been featured on the PBC circuit.

Martin’s debut under the PBC banner came last September on NBC Sports Network, which immediately trailed primetime edition of PBC on NBC. He went on to win a heavyweight belt, stopping Vyacheslav Glazkov in their vacant title fight this past January. The event aired live on Showtime, but loaded with Haymon-advised boxers in front of a sold-out crowd at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

Breazeale’s road to title contention came with three consecutive appearances on free TV. The unbeaten heavyweight - who served on the 2012 U.S. Olympic boxing team - saw his run officially begin with a 3rd round knockout of previously unbeaten Yasmany Consuegra last June during an afternoon edition of PBC on NBC, followed by a hard-fought 10-round nod over Fred Kassi in primetime on NBC last November, on the same night Martin stopped Vicente Sandez in three rounds on the accompanying NBC Sports Network telecast.

Earlier this January, Breazeale overcame a knockdown to force Amir Mansour to retire on his stool after five rounds as part of the series debut of PBC on Fox, a telecast that carried a peak viewership of 3 million viewers.

While Hearn is not alone in criticism directed toward the PBC model, the upside is that its fighters are being regularly showcased without having to go the Pay-Per-View route. 

"We're not doing PPV here with world champions fighting over matched opponents as Anthony Joshua, Kell Brook and Ricky Burns are,” Brown comments, indirectly noting that Sky Sports has become reliant on a la carte Sky Box Office for its bigger shows.

The same has become the case as of late for HBO, whom – due to budget cuts as ordered by parent company Time Warner – has  been forced to bring in the PPV model for pitched matchups that were previously affordable entries for it World Championship Boxing series.

“We're giving the people what they want,” Brown believes. “Great fights without having viewers dig into their wallets for it.”

Jake Donovan is the managing editor of BoxingScene.com. Follow him on his shiny new Twitter account: @JakeNDaBox_v2