For the past few years, there have been rumblings that cabel network Spike - best known for programs such as 'Bar Rescue', 'Hungry Investors', 'Thrift Hunters' and it's association with MMA company Bellator - would start televising boxing. The rumors are heating up again as BoxingScene.com has been told by two notable promoters that they have had meetings with Spike, which is a unit of the Viacom Media Networks.
According to Kathy Duva, the head of Main Events, Sergey Kovalev, who's coming off a decisive victory over Bernard Hopkins on November 8th, will be making his return in the spring of 2015. "(Sergey's) going to fight in March and we're working on who it's going to be and obviously we're working with the IBF to work out what it's going to be,"Duva confirmed to BoxingScene.com on Monday afternoon.
BoxingScene.com has been advised that ESPN2 will begin its 2015 season of 'Friday Night Fights' on January 9th with a card from the Chumash Casino Resort in Santa Ynez, California. A fight between Darleys Perez (31-1, 20KOs) and Jonathan Maicelo (21-2, 12KOs), for the interim-WBA lightweight championship, will headline the telecast with the strong possibility that junior middleweight Francisco Santana (21-3-1, 10KOs) will also appear on this card.
Team Sauerland and Hennessy Sport are pleased to announce that the IBF World Cruiserweight Championship showdown between Yoan Pablo Hernandez (29-1, 14 KOs) and Ola Afolabi (21-3-4, 10 KOs) will be broadcast LIVE on Channel 5 (8.30-10.30pm). British boxing fans will now have the chance to follow London-born Afolabi as he attempts to dethrone the Cuban cruiserweight king on Saturday, December 6 at the EWE Arena in Oldenburg, Germany.
It’s going to be a busy Saturday night with three shows airing in the US with some overlap on the last two. Let’s be honest though. There is only one main event of the week. Whether the fight turns out to be good or just another intriguing chapter in the story of a living legend, the sight of a 49-year old man pursuing unification of his second weight division is pretty crazy stuff. Moore and Foreman were pretty much done by the same age.
The hybrid offering of Showtime’s November 1 boxing tripleheader from the UIC Pavilion in Chicago saw betting favorites Andrzej Fonfara, Tomoki Kameda and Javier Fortuna all post wins. The main event registered an average of 281,000 households, with a peak average of 413,000 homes tuned in to the action. News of the results was first broken by Kevin Iole of Yahoo! Sports. Overall, the show averaged 345,000 viewers, making it the highest-rated Shobox / Special Edition event from Showtime in 2014.
It was announced officially on Friday afternoon that Showtime finalized a December 13th tripleheader from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas featuring a welterweight showdown between Amir Khan and Devon Alexander. Rounding out this telecast is Keith Thurman facing Leonard Bundu and WBO junior middleweight titlist, Demetrius Andrade taking on the challenge of Jermell Charlo.
This was (again) supposed to be the week of the latest potential war at Flyweight (Juan Carlos Reveco-Yodmongkol Vor Saengthep). Initially pushed back two weeks to Halloween night, it’s now been cancelled. Bummer. There is still boxing to be found on US air. How good it is remains to be seen. These are the picks of the week.
This was supposed to be the week of the latest potential war at Flyweight (Juan Carlos Reveco-Yodmongkol Vor Saengthep), but a delay pushes that to the ghoulish date of October 31. If only there were something else… Oh, but wait, there is. Saturday night will fans in the US three options for fistic delights with only a little bit of overlap. These are the picks of the week.
As a prelude to the upcoming HBO Pay-Per-View® showdown on Nov. 22 between world welterweight champ Manny Pacquiao and fast-rising challenger Chris Algieri, HBO Sports will air “24/7 Pacquiao/Algieri,” an action-packed one episode, 30-minute special examining the 147-pound title showdown. The “24/7 Pacquiao/Algieri” special will premiere Saturday, Nov. 8 at 1:00 a.m. (ET/PT) on HBO immediately following the live World Championship Boxing event from Atlantic City. The all-new documentary-styled presentation will explore the intriguing storylines connected to the Nov. 22 fight: one of the world’s most popular and famous athletes defending his crown versus a remarkably confident, poised and undefeated prizefighter from Long Island, whose journey to the highest-profile stage in the sport is unparalleled and reads like a Hollywood script.