Former 122 lb. titlist Scott Quigg (34-1-2, 25 KO) hasn’t lost since a somewhat disappointing unification clash with Carl Frampton. Quigg has been all but forgotten but he can still scrap and will be a serious test for Valdez. By night’s end, this could be one of the best main events Top Rank has produced since starting their latest deal on ESPN.
Ratings for HBO’s boxing doubleheader Saturday night seemingly were impacted by direct competition from premium-cable rival Showtime. HBO’s main event, Sergey Kovalev-Igor Mikhalkin, attracted a peak audience of 674,000 and an average audience of 599,000, according to ratings revealed Tuesday by Nielsen Media Research. The co-feature of HBO’s “World Championship Boxing” offering, Dmitry Bivol-Sullivan Barrera, drew a peak viewership of 570,000 and an average viewership of 512,000.
Not since Deontay Wilder won the WBC heavyweight title from Bermane Stiverne have as many viewers watched a boxing match on Showtime as they did Saturday night. According to ratings released Tuesday by Nielsen Media Research, Wilder’s compelling comeback victory over Luis Ortiz drew a peak audience of 1.2 million viewers and averaged 1.1 viewers. That was Showtime’s largest viewership since Wilder’s unanimous-decision defeat of Stiverne attracted a peak audience of 1.34 million viewers and an average viewership of 1.24 million in January 2015.
The first of two excellent heavyweight matches this month, this one is the more unpredictable on paper. Wilder (39-0, 38 KO) is defending the WBC title for the seventh time and this is his toughest challenger. Luis Ortiz (28-0, 24 KO) comes from the Cuban amateur program where he spent many years in the shadow of Odlanier Solis. He has a chance to cast his own shadow here but at 38 is he too late to the dance? Previous failed tests for banned substances cast another shadow over Ortiz as do fight week speculation about a hand injury. Wilder has the edge in youth, speed, and single shot power. Ortiz is much better in terms of technique. Neither man has truly had their chin checked against another top heavyweight. This is fun heavyweight boxing where part of the enjoyment is the sheer anticipation.
The second installment of “SuperFly” drew lower ratings than HBO’s first telecast, but produced similar ratings to the premium cable network’s first boxing offering of 2018. According to ratings released Tuesday by Nielsen Media Research, HBO’s main event Saturday night between Srisaket Sor Rungvisai and Juan Francisco Estrada drew a peak audience of 753,000. Sor Rungvisai-Estrada averaged 639,000 viewers.
An easy choice for pick of the week, this HBO tripleheader (SuperFly 2) is fantastic on paper and should deliver at least one classic before the night is through. No one would be surprised if the main event turns the trick. The near consensus picks for top two in the 115 lb. class after the exit of Naoya Inoue to bantamweight, two-time WBC titlist Sor Rungvisai (44-4-1, 40 KO) defends his title against the former unified flyweight titlist Estrada (36-2, 25 KO). Can Sor Rungvisai match his knockout of Roman Gonzalez last year? Can Estrada beat the conqueror of the last man to beat him?
The controversial draw between Devon Alexander and Victor Ortiz was by far the most-watched televised boxing match in the United States over the weekend. According to ratings released Wednesday by Nielsen Media Research, their 12-round majority draw, which FOX aired as the main event of a three-bout broadcast Saturday night, attracted a peak audience of 1,530,000. The entire telecast averaged 1,136,000 viewers for FOX.
The ratings for Showtime’s second “Showtime Championship Boxing” broadcast of 2018 weren’t as high as the ratings generated by its first telecast of this year. According to ratings released Wednesday by Nielsen Media Research, the main event of the premium-cable channel’s tripleheader Saturday night, Danny Garcia’s ninth-round stoppage of Brandon Rios, peaked at 558,000 viewers. The Garcia-Rios fight was watched by an average audience of 516,000.
Top Rank's CEO Bob Arum believes ESPN is the perfect outlet to showcase a potential showdown between lightweight bout between Vasyl Lomachenko and WBA world champion Jorge Linares. Arum has an ESPN televised date of May 12, from New York's Madison Square Garden, penciled in for Lomachenko's debut at 135-pounds. He tried to secure Linares as the opponent for the card - but there is a scheduling conflict for Linares' promoter, Golden Boy Promotions.
Once again, the best fight of the week isn’t going to be on US TV. This hotly anticipated UK super middleweight showdown doesn’t carry the unification pedigree of the cruiserweight semifinals of the World Boxing Super Series. It’s got plenty otherwise going for it. Groves (27-3, 20 KO) won the WBA belt in his fourth try at a title and looks to prolong his reign into the WBSS final. Eubank (26-1, 20 KO) held an interim belt at middleweight and aims for his first full title in the division where his father made a case that has him on the ballot for the Hall of Fame. Groves is more experienced. Eubank is rapidly improving. This isn’t a fight to miss.