ESPN Vit/Gomez coverage sucks!!

mad props to espn tho fo sure. Boxing is a dying sport well I should hw boxing and they just made a bit better by showing it. there will so many people who werent interested in hw boxing just flipping throught the channel and come across this and become fans.

this was really wack from hbo and showtime, cause this is a pretty big fight, it has all of the potential to be a very entartaining fight and they will regret not showing it

......This is potentially a huge event for them IMO and they are giving it next to nothing in coverage on TV or on their website. Why the hell did they even want this fight if they were just going to piss away an opportunity to excite a potential fan base and give the die hard heavyweight fans something to talk about? When was the last time ESPN televised a heavyweight title fight? What a joke!!! Maybe it's the competing NCAA tourney coverage or something. Boxing fan til i die, unfortunately, NCAA final 4 brings in more viewers therefore mo $$$$$. The changing it to another channel is fine, but the time change is what pisses me off.....i'm going to end up watching it on some shitty buffering every 10 seconds sopcast/stream.....

The little preview on their website was pretty well done.

....Well, there have been 3 different articles on ESPN's website over the last several days so the coverage is picking up a bit.

...Again, if ESPN didn't care then why take the fight in a slot reserved for NCAA coverage? It's a huge deal for ESPN. Can you tell me the last time they hosted a legit heavyweight title fight? They just suck and they are blowing an opportunity here. Those afternoon heavyweight fights from Germany are great. Maybe they got a good deal? Personally, I think their Friday Night Fights should get more coverage, like live weigh-ins and in-studio appearances. I think that would be great for the sport.

IMO, Vitali is the more exciting fighter out of the two...but again, Heavyweight boxing is a shell of its former self (and that's being nice). Its one of those fights where if you're home...you'll watch it. But I wouldn't be canceling plans or speeding home to see it.

ESPN doesn't show the NCAA tournament. CBS does. ESPN is putting this on against the tournament fully knowing only hardcore boxing fans will watch it. Even if they marketted it out the asshole, no casual fans would watch. It is up against the most popular sporting event of the year. The same people would watch it whether they marketted it 24/7 or completely ignored it. It is going to be a fight freaks only event. The freaks are a niche crowd. The show will do low numbers for ESPN, but higher than they would have been had they put something else against the tourney. That is the reason it is set up the way it is. The reason it's on ESPN is probably because HBO and Showtime didn't want it. The reason they don't want it is because they tend to try and no go up against huge sporting events. I agree, it's going to be fight fans only on Saturday.

I've seen all his fights, and none of them are dull. Name one you saw that was? That Sam Peter fight was so exciting I nearly lost it in my pants. Watching Vitali jab a heavy bag with feet was exactly what I was hoping for. You say Vitali is fighting I get goosebumps. Whoever said Tyson was the most electrifying heavyweight never saw the Klits.

I've seen all his fights, and none of them are dull. Name one you saw that was? ...Yeah, how can you have the highest KO percentage of any heavyweight champ ever and still end up being boring? Why don't people just come and say that they don't find them exciting because they don't talk shit, sport the bling, or smack bitches around? Meanwhile Chris Byrd and Tony are artistic geniuses who keep you on the edge of your seat. Please!!!!!!

He's fighting for a World title though. He'll be the first ever Cuban to win a heavyweight title if he wins. Surely there are a few of them interested. When a big event like this happens, teams or individuals in sport usually get a large backing from their countrymen, regardless of whether or not most of them are even interested in that particular sport. ...Very true, and the magnitude of the event is certainly much greater than "Friday Night Fights". To even compare this to some Friday night fight bumfest is assinine. ESPN went out and got this fight for a reason. Then they dropped the ball. Simple as that. They should be promoting it heavily at least on the boxing portion of the website and that's not even happening. I few people don't seem to understand that, so I'm done trying to dumb it down and explain.

ESPN doesn't show the NCAA tournament. CBS does. ESPN is putting this on against the tournament fully knowing only hardcore boxing fans will watch it. Even if they marketted it out the asshole, no casual fans would watch. It is up against the most popular sporting event of the year. The same people would watch it whether they marketted it 24/7 or completely ignored it. It is going to be a fight freaks only event. The freaks are a niche crowd. The show will do low numbers for ESPN, but higher than they would have been had they put something else against the tourney. That is the reason it is set up the way it is.

Vitali is only in an exciting fight if the opponent makes it one. In fairness, that isn't altogther his fault, but his style is still rather awkward and robotic. Mike Tyson could have went into the ring and punched a bodybag filled with sand and people still would have been entertained because of the explosiveness of him. I've seen all his fights, and none of them are dull. Name one you saw that was?

You are making a mistake by labelling both the Klitschko's based solely on Wladimir's reputation. Vitali has never been in a dull fight and goes for the KO every time. He doesn't allow somebody to 'one up' him. Not Lennox Lewis, not Kirk Johnson, not Corrie Sanders, not Sam peter and he won't allow Gomez. The only thing that landed shots will do for Gomez is ensure that he gets hit twice for each one he lands. The more agressive he gets, the ealier he gets to go to sleep. Mark my words. Excellent post! :fing02:

You are making a mistake by labelling both the Klitschko's based solely on Wladimir's reputation. Vitali has never been in a dull fight and goes for the KO every time. He doesn't allow somebody to 'one up' him. Not Lennox Lewis, not Kirk Johnson, not Corrie Sanders, not Sam peter and he won't allow Gomez. The only thing that landed shots will do for Gomez is ensure that he gets hit twice for each one he lands. The more agressive he gets, the ealier he gets to go to sleep. Mark my words. word wlad isnt close to vitali. Vitali might not be tyson in his prime but dude is alot better then wlad to watch

thats because theyre boring as hell

The Klitschkos are hugely popular in Europe, but for some reason they get no press or bad press in the US. Vitali is one of the most exciting heavyweights ever. Anyone who says he is obviously prejudiced. if they were americans they'd be huge as they are in germany. european fighters never get respect in america

i agree espn is ****ing up, they could sell this fight with the network they have but don't doesn't make sense

You are making a mistake by labelling both the Klitschko's based solely on Wladimir's reputation. Vitali has never been in a dull fight and goes for the KO every time. He doesn't allow somebody to 'one up' him. Not Lennox Lewis, not Kirk Johnson, not Corrie Sanders, not Sam peter and he won't allow Gomez. The only thing that landed shots will do for Gomez is ensure that he gets hit twice for each one he lands. The more agressive he gets, the ealier he gets to go to sleep. Mark my words. Vitali is only in an exciting fight if the opponent makes it one. In fairness, that isn't altogther his fault, but his style is still rather awkward and robotic. Mike Tyson could have went into the ring and punched a bodybag filled with sand and people still would have been entertained because of the explosiveness of him.

It costs a lot of money to put on a boxing match and televise it. I recall reading an article about The Dream Match revenue and if I remember correctly, I think it stated that half of the PPV money went to cover cost. I don't know the financial details about this event, but I've had some TV production experience and if ESPN has a big production team going overseas, that alone is gonna cost big money (more than likely, however, most of the production will be local I would imagine, meaning camera operators, techs, equipment and stuff like that will be from Germany). I personally don't know anything about what goes on behind-the-scenes at ESPN, but don't be surprised if any number of factors are in play for ESPN not properly promoting this fight. Internal politics happen at networks and priority is definitely given to proven ratings winners like the NCAA Tourney. The fact that there's tons of games to promote for college basketball stretching through March Madness versus a one-time event like a boxing match might be one reason for lack of promo. I've seen networks spend millions on shows and then not promote them because they're trying to save money. A good show will probably tank in the ratings without necessary promotion (these days, with hundreds of channels to choose from you got to almost force people to watch your programming by enticing them beyond belief). But if a show that wasn't promoted tanks, the network usually blames the show for not being good enough.