Petition for more boxing from the States on free UK TV

[flat1985]

Sign me up!

[Dirt McGirt]

I think there's a Facebook group that was set up to get as many names as possible, might be worth checking out. Stick my name down anyway, it's worth a go.

As you say, we usually get all the really big fights over here but I wanna see more of the non-PPV fights from around the world on a weekly basis. We only get British fights or PPV fights, it's pathetic. It's shocking how deprived UK boxing fans are considering how much utter crap is shown on the sports channels.

[123tyson123]

Does anyone think it might be a better idea to move this thread in to the non stop boxing section?

[The_Demon]

would be nice,not guna happen though

[wXh..]

although I dont live in the UK but live in the Netherlands....WAR FREE BOXING !!

I get Sky here for free cuz of some illegal decoder ****....always have to watch Amir's fights online though cuz its impossible to watch them illegaly on tv because its PPV

[Decypher]

what are the BBC or ITV doing?

ITV have been in some serious financial difficulty recently.

As for the BBC, they could no doubt afford to show some fights, but it's been said by a number of people that some within the BBC don't like the sport.

From a recent BoxingScene interview with Steve Bunce:

So, does the future look rosy for British boxing? Buncey was optimistic: “The British people love boxing and the BBC hate boxing, let’s never forget that, but we have the Games coming up and the boxers will be the stars of the Olympics, we like them, it is that simple. Boxers are nice kids, they’ve always got decent back stories and they can generally talk, which puts them ahead of most kids in most sports, they’re a bit lively as well.”

Coda:

People expect rants, rages and bold statements from ‘Buncey’, the Youtube hits stem from his outspoken outbursts, and he had one for us, returning to the BBC’s attitude towards the sport of boxing.

“If twenty-five million people wrote in their still wouldn’t be any boxing on the BBC, save your breath, save your time, it is not part of the policy over there,” declared Buncey. “I think it is a little bit of classism at stake, I’d like to say that there is a little bit of racism at stake, 70% of boxers are black or Asian and about 95% of people who own the BBC are white, that is why you could call it racism and not classism.

“Classism doesn’t scare people, if you accuse the BBC of being classist and ignoring boxing because it’s a working class sport they’d dismiss it. If I were black and accused the BBC of being classist and racist, well I tell you what, maybe that’s the angle. Maybe we should attack the BBC for that. Tell them a few figures and have a look at the sports they do support: rowing - 99% white, gymnastics - 99% white, horse racing - 100% white, you cover these sports but not boxing. That’s not a bad idea is it?”

Hold those ‘Bunce accuses Beeb of racism’ headlines until you’ve thought about his point, the truth doesn’t lie in these, made up, figures or a covert policy of racism on the behalf of the BBC but, rather, in the attitude of the beeb, why do they ignore our sport? Why is boxing not part of the ‘crown ***els’, especially given the fact that we now have a heavyweight champion? The national football team, a bunch of prima donnas who have not won anything since 1966, is the crown ***el of the beeb’s ‘crown ***els’; forget racism, maybe the BBC hates success.

Ignore the claims that the sport is too unreliable and expensive. Pullouts have led to some thrilling fights: Lewis-Klitschko and Dodson-Quigley for example. As for expense, we put the money in, so why not cut down on chasing ratings via glossy reality TV and phone in shows and put some boxing back on the box?

No, the BBC has not given us a reasonable excuse for the boxing blackout, so we are left to make up the reasons for them. Institutional racism makes as much sense as any other line they trot out in regards to the sport, and it is better than the real reasons given by the beeb who, for all its public broadcaster bluster, is not listening to its customers. In that sense the organisation is no better than Sky, and it is time for us to decide if a service that provides second hand news and ‘Make Me An Opera Star In The Jungle With My Crack Addicted Mother’ is really worth paying for, we already get umpteen channels of ****e via Sky TV so the beeb is not worth the money we are forced into paying for it.

http://www.boxingscene.com/?m=show&id=23681

I wouldn't want to discourage anyone, but with the BBC they may just be anti-boxing unfortunately.

[GRANDSLAM]

yes about time

[Shanks]

im in.

but the only people who you should be emailing are sky because currently they are the only ones showing boxing and the most realistic people who will do it

[Davros?]

I wouldn't want to discourage anyone, but with the BBC they may just be anti-boxing unfortunately.

They are, in the 1980's grandstand used to show boxing from america, every saturday evening there was a boxing fight on BBC now there is nothing and there will be nothing. The only fighter they are likley to show is Haye but they turned down his last fight. If they turned down Haye they will never show American boxing. The only way to change that is to get a new leader at the BBC

[dantheman1983]

Did anyone used to watch/record 'Boxing USA' (which was ESPN Friday Night fights) in the early hours on sunday morning on Channel 5?
It doesn't seem that they are airing the new season, maybe it's on the ESPN Uk cable channel. It's a shame as that and the ocassional ITV4 show were the only free boxing on UK TV. I think the ITV shows are stopping and a lot of them were actually better than the hit and miss sky sports friday fight nights.

Give us more boxing, BBC are rubbish, darts, snooker? come on, hardly great sports to watch on telly. They're still showing one man and his dog though so happy days.