Is Showtime taking HBO's place ?

[hurtbizness83]

showtime has better fights better ideas, but hbo got bigger names

[mathed]

Showtime puts on better fights 90% of the time anyways. HBO is a marketing machine and their fights always involve controversy, while most of the Showtime fights seems to have fair reffing and judging....on HBO........what a joke.

[Kagami Taiga]

no way. for the simple fact that hbo just has much more money than showtime. always has, always will. showtime has always been a fringe competitor. if anybody is ever gonna compete with hbo for real, its gonna be someone/something new, something revolutionary. mark my words.

[PACnPBFsuck]

Showtimes has better matchmaking,on a small percentage of what Hbo spends on boxing Showtime consistently has the better fights,Hbo is full of overpriced names.

That's exactly what's going on, If you watch Shobox and B.A.D. tonight you'll see the difference. I think the announcers also make a difference, when I listen to the black guy on showtime(I can't remember his name), he makes you wanna jump out of you're seat.

When I listen to Jim, it's like listening to the Clear eye Visine guy, it's boring. The only time Jim gets excited is when PAC is fighting, I think HBO ****ed up when they broke up the crew of Bob, Max, and Lennox. Atleast Lennox kept it real, those three guys had good chemistry.

I think the boxing fans will start migrating to the more exciting fights, which are on Showtime.

[Bushbaby]

Showtime is better for the sport. Anyone who disagrees doesnt care about boxing.

HBO has fighters that they are grooming and cater to viciously, it's disgusting how they spoon feed the guys they assume are their next golden boys.

Showtime always seems to pit the best against the best, or at least try to. All favoritism aside. With thing like the super six in play, it really makes me wonder how much Pull showtime has over fighters under their contracts. Promoters don't seem to have as much strength as they would under an HBO contract... if they did, we wouldn't get have the fights showtime gives us now.

And this is why i think the bigger names seem to gravitate toward HBO. not just the fact that that's where PPV is, but the contract is probably more fitting to their standards.

Have you ever seen a fighter on showtime "groomed" by them? Lol.
Hbo Groomed dawson, williams, taylor, pavlik, berto to the MAX. Pretty disgusting actually.

At least berto hasn't let them down yet, lol.

Co-sign here,Showtime puts together much better quality fights!!Plus they have up & comers on friday!!The only thing Hbo has over showtime are star fighters!!But that is what's spoiling boxing,HBO's superstar fighters that get spoonfed & over hyped while showtime usually matches their fighters tough every time out!!I have both & I've said for years that showtime has much better fights!!The perfect example is Castillo-Corrales,seriously nuff said!!

[nomadman]

Showtime's been kicking HBO's arse for the last two years now, in my opinion. They consistently put on great fights, pit the best against the best, and have the guts to put on innovative (if somewhat failed) experiments like the Super Six in order to definitively find the number one fighter in a particular division. They have a close and well-knit announcing team that, whilst it may be a little biased towards some fighters at times, never fails to inject excitement into the big fights when it matters. And they never seem to try to rip off customers with overpriced garbage mismatch PPVs. In other words, they're everything we moan about HBO not being, yet like an abused girlfriend so many people (often the biggest moaners it appears) come back to HBO time and time again, lured by the big name fighters and glitzy show that so often turns out to be hollow disappointment.

Saying that, I hope Showtime doesn't overtake HBO. Rather, I hope it attains a position in which it can overtly challenge HBO's viewership and thus force HBO to reassess their business model and their general attitude towards fans. That's my ideal scenario. If Showtime ever does overtake HBO (which I don't think is likely) then I can foresee it essentially becoming what HBO is now, a wasteful, greedy and over-produced product that panders to the whims of diva-esque fighters like Berto and focusing on showcase mismatches whilst ignoring the fights than fans really want until the point where they feel it's absolutely financially beneficial to do so. Money corrupts, and all that.

Yes, ideally I'd like to see them both on an even keel but catering to slightly different aspects of boxing's fanbase. Showtime will always appeal more to the hardcore, I think, whilst HBO has the mainstream casual appeal, but Showtime has plenty of fighters who'd certainly be fan favourites were they better promoted. Likewise HBO could certainly do with showcasing some of their fighters better like Katsides. A Showtime with slightly more money and an HBO with slightly less money (or less propensity for wasting it) would do wonders for boxing as a whole.

[Bushbaby]

Showtime's been kicking HBO's arse for the last two years now, in my opinion. They consistently put on great fights, pit the best against the best, and have the guts to put on innovative (if somewhat failed) experiments like the Super Six in order to definitively find the number one fighter in a particular division. They have a close and well-knit announcing team that, whilst it may be a little biased towards some fighters at times, never fails to inject excitement into the big fights when it matters. And they never seem to try to rip off customers with overpriced garbage mismatch PPVs. In other words, they're everything we moan about HBO not being, yet like an abused girlfriend so many people (often the biggest moaners it appears) come back to HBO time and time again, lured by the big name fighters and glitzy show that so often turns out to be hollow disappointment.

Saying that, I hope Showtime doesn't overtake HBO. Rather, I hope it attains a position in which it can overtly challenge HBO's viewership and thus force HBO to reassess their business model and their general attitude towards fans. That's my ideal scenario. If Showtime ever does overtake HBO (which I don't think is likely) then I can foresee it essentially becoming what HBO is now, a wasteful, greedy and over-produced product that panders to the whims of diva-esque fighters like Berto and focusing on showcase mismatches whilst ignoring the fights than fans really want until the point where they feel it's absolutely financially beneficial to do so. Money corrupts, and all that.

Yes, ideally I'd like to see them both on an even keel but catering to slightly different aspects of boxing's fanbase. Showtime will always appeal more to the hardcore, I think, whilst HBO has the mainstream casual appeal, but Showtime has plenty of fighters who'd certainly be fan favourites were they better promoted. Likewise HBO could certainly do with showcasing some of their fighters better like Katsides. A Showtime with slightly more money and an HBO with slightly less money (or less propensity for wasting it) would do wonders for boxing as a whole.

Green k sent,great post,I have both but if times were tough & I had to give up 1 network,by by hbo because showtime has boxing on friday & saturday & Dexter!!

[PACnPBFsuck]

Co-sign here,Showtime puts together much better quality fights!!Plus they have up & comers on friday!!The only thing Hbo has over showtime are star fighters!!But that is what's spoiling boxing,HBO's superstar fighters that get spoonfed & over hyped while showtime usually matches their fighters tough every time out!!I have both & I've said for years that showtime has much better fights!!The perfect example is Castillo-Corrales,seriously nuff said!!

And don't forget the war from Marquez and Vazquez which started on showtime and HBO jumped on the bandwagon for the last one.

[nomadman]

Green k sent,great post,I have both but if times were tough & I had to give up 1 network,by by hbo because showtime has boxing on friday & saturday & Dexter!!

Thanks buddy. I too would probably choose Showtime over HBO, though it wouldn't be an easy choice. I do like HBO, and I'm as much a sucker for the hype and glitz as the next man, when it's backed up by a solid fight, but too often that second element is missing in their events.

[nomadman]

And don't forget the war from Marquez and Vazquez which started on showtime and HBO jumped on the bandwagon for the last one.

Showtime certainly seem like they're working for the good of boxing as a whole, whilst HBO consistently give the impression that they're just out for number 1. That's one other thing that makes me prefer Showtime over HBO.