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Everyone is excited about the ESPN PPV event and why not? There are some exciting fights and the matchups on paper appear competitive. And these fights cost the consumer $30, which is not cheap but certainly less expensive charged for many less desirable bouts in the past.
The issue for me is not whether ESPN does PPV but how ESPN follows up their fine boxing programs with coverage beyond the ring. Friday Night Fights is one of the boxing's best shows. ESPN has often presented some intriguing matchups and Teddy Atlas is not afraid to state the truth as he sees it. He does not coddle the audience and if a fight stinks, he tells you.
The problem with ESPN is not their Friday night coverage but their coverage or the lack thereof after the fights. ESPN does their Friday Nights fights and the rest of the network ignore the fights. No replays or even mention of the results on Sports Center. Sports Center doesn’t even acknowledge the sport.
It is not as if Boxing is not a sport. It is. Boxing has many problems, but it has produced some of Sports' greatest moments. The first Ali-Frazier was one of Sports watershed moments that transcended the sport and has to be one of Sports' top five events of the 20th century. (Another moment would have to include the second Louis-Schmeling.)
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The issue for me is not whether ESPN does PPV but how ESPN follows up their fine boxing programs with coverage beyond the ring. Friday Night Fights is one of the boxing's best shows. ESPN has often presented some intriguing matchups and Teddy Atlas is not afraid to state the truth as he sees it. He does not coddle the audience and if a fight stinks, he tells you.
The problem with ESPN is not their Friday night coverage but their coverage or the lack thereof after the fights. ESPN does their Friday Nights fights and the rest of the network ignore the fights. No replays or even mention of the results on Sports Center. Sports Center doesn’t even acknowledge the sport.
It is not as if Boxing is not a sport. It is. Boxing has many problems, but it has produced some of Sports' greatest moments. The first Ali-Frazier was one of Sports watershed moments that transcended the sport and has to be one of Sports' top five events of the 20th century. (Another moment would have to include the second Louis-Schmeling.)
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