Fans who knew it was coming, and plenty just flipping the dials, found a treat on ESPN last Saturday night.
For the first time in thirty years on commercial television, they saw the full fifteen rounds of the first clash between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier. The last time their essential classic was aired in similar fashion was as an NBC rebroadcast complete with a studio retrospective. This was just the raw goods, as good as it ever was, Burt Lancaster and all.
In the age of YouTube, hardcore fight followers with an eye on the past probably found this fairly unspectacular. It’s not like it’s been hard to see Ali-Frazier or a plethora of other bouts. This was just a different opportunity metric. There’s a difference between finding something while searching the cable menu and seeking something out.
There is also a difference between watching a bout whose viewing quality is determined by who shared it and a re-air from the original master. The latter often comes with extra scene setting and post-fight moments that make a fight complete.
There are many nights when random ‘what is there to watch’ scans settle on a piece of an old Super Bowl, classic NBA match-up, or rerun of a show not seen in years. Those work as instant trips down memory lane.
Where were you when Jordan scored 63?
What were you doing when Brady got away with a fumble against the Raiders?
Or, just as important, ‘oh, THIS is what Dad/Grandpa/Uncle Joe was talking about?’ Chances to see something classic with new eyes can enhance growing fandom in any sport.
Classic fights arguably hold up better than any other sporting event.
Those with access in boxing could do more to play on the effect, especially as the social effects of coronavirus continue.
One thing striking about the lineup before and after last Saturday’s broadcast were the pieces of it that have been a regular part of the ESPN rotation. Ali-Foreman, Ali-Frazier III, Tyson-Berbick, and Tyson-Spinks have been part of many classic ESPN boxing marathons.
There’s so much out there that hasn’t been.
Let’s just consider the current state of ESPN alone. When Top Rank had a contract with Versus years ago, it included a classic fight show for a while. Some of the offerings included fights like George Foreman-Tommy Morrison, Michael Carbajal-Humberto Gonzalez, and Marvin Hagler fights against guys who weren’t part of the Fab Four.
Over the last fifty years, Top Rank has produced thousands of fights. Only a smidge of that library is being tapped, including in the store of fights on ESPN+. There are hundreds of hours of great fights that aired on the old ESPN shows from the 80s and Wide World of Sports as well. Top Rank used to have a SuperBouts series which regularly replayed Roberto Duran-Davey Moore and Ray Leonard-Tommy Hearns in the 80s and 90s.
Where are they now?
Ratings certainly play a role in what makes the air. ESPN used to show more older items on their Classic outlet. The results seem to indicate viewers are more likely to stop for big names. Tyson gets a lot of replay time because more people want to watch him again.
Fair enough.
There’s still plenty of bandwidth that could be used on the additional ESPN subscription outlet for a collection of contests that currently just glazes the surface. It was so cool to finally see Ali-Frazier I brought out of the cellar and nice to see it added to the online library. There are other classics that matter that haven’t seen air in thirty years and more than that.
Unleash them.
It might help take a curious new fan into the land of lifetime paying customers.
Cliff’s Notes…
Showtime continues to re-air classics from their Showtime Championship Boxing 30th Anniversary series and that’s been a lot of fun. They, and ESPN, deserve credit for some significant blocks of classic boxing programming in lieu of new content regardless of what isn’t there. It’s given something to look forward to...Speaking of libraries, someday someone is going to unleash the Don King library and that will be a great day for fight fans. So much of the best of Julio Cesar Chavez, Duran, and others is just waiting to be discovered again...One last thought: social media trash talk about fights that didn’t happen before the showdown would be a lot more interesting if it meant we’d see a pedal to the metal move to make those fights when boxing resumes. Does anyone think it will? Boxing may be able to resume its business before some other major sports. It could be a golden opportunity, empty arenas or not. Those who take advantage could see a real benefit in the long run.
Cliff Rold is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene, a founding member of the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board, and a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com