By Jake Donovan
Prior to 2015, the boxing schedule would hit a certain point in the year – the doldrums of summer, the period surrounding Major League Baseball’s World Series, the winter holidays – where fans would experience a major lull.
Those days are long gone, thanks to the continued progress of Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions series. The brand has so far appeared on seven different networks (NBC, CBS, ESPN, Spike TV, Fox Sports 1, NBC Sports Network and Bounce TV), with a whopping 35 shows having aired or are currently scheduled, from its NBC primetime premiere on March 7 all the way through an October 17 Saturday afternoon edition of PBC on NBC.
Bear in mind that still leaves 10 more weeks to add to that growing number, with the potential for upwards of 60 PBC-branded shows by year’s end. That excludes fighters under the PBC umbrella who have already appeared or scheduled for future fight dates on Showtime and its Pay-Per-View arm.
Simply put, boxing is everywhere – even outside of PBC, as HBO, truTV and a slew of Hispanic-market networks (beIn Sport Español, Estrella TV, Telemundo, TV Azteca, TyC Sports, UniMas, WAPA, etc.). Even better for the fact is that casual sports fans in the United States are regularly talking about the sport for the first time in a long time.
“I haven’t had people comment about boxing to me in years,” Marv Albert, the legendary announcer who serves as PBC on NBC blow-by-blow commentator noted during a recent media conference call prior to Deontay Wilder's 11th round stoppage of Johann Duhauapas. “HBO and Showtime have done a great job with boxing for years. But now that fights are on NBC, CBS in addition to great fights on HBO and Showtime, it’s out there.”
The feat marked the first time in more than 30 years that a heavyweight title fight aired live in primetime on NBC. The last such occasion also featured Albert behind the mic, calling the action for what would serve as the 20th and last successful defense of Larry Holmes’ seven-year title reign.
The eventual Hall of Famer was given a scare on that night, having to endure a stiff challenge from Carl ‘The Truth’ Williams in prevailing via unanimous decision.
At the time, Sugar Ray Leonard – who had already led a Hall-of-Fame worthy career to that point – was still a year removed from his last fight and another two years away from what many consider the greatest comeback in boxing history. The definitive superstar of his era would return from a three-year ring absence to shock the world versus then-reigning middleweight king Marvelous Marvin Hagler in April ’87.
Long before that point, Leonard was able to parlay his 1976 Olympic Gold medal win into a lucrative pro career. His rise to fame came thanks to network exposure and the endorsement deals inspired by his in-ring success and out-of-the-ring charisma while appealing to a worldwide audience.
The hope is that from this latest run of boxing everywhere on free TV and regional cable – in addition to the premium cable outlets – is that the next star can emerge from the sport without having to be rushed to the PPV circuit.
“A day doesn’t go by where a person – boxing fan or not – that they thank me for boxing being back on NBC,” Leonard noted during the call. “It’s so special to me. I love being at ringside with my guys and giving boxing what boxing needs – and that’s exposure.”
The September 26 edition of PBC on NBC marked the fourth primetime telecast on network television this year alone.
Jake Donovan is the managing editor of BoxingScene.com.
Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
Facebook Page: JakeBScene
