How did the BBC ship sink?

[BodiesInFlight]

Audley man...that guy lol

I remember the BBC also repeating Tyson v Lewis, probably a week after it's PPV showing. And as a kid, I remember watching some Jones fights, so they may have been on BBC. But I'm pretty sure Sky had him and DLH.

Yeah the beeb only had highlights or delays for Jones. It may have only been one or two my memory isn't the best

I also remember around the time Haye was on the BBC maybe 2003? There was an amateur tourney kinda like the Ryder cup UK vs US, it was really good but never heard or saw anything about it since.

[b00g13man]

One word - Fraudley.

/ thread...

[Tom Cruise]

Yeah the beeb only had highlights or delays for Jones. It may have only been one or two my memory isn't the best

I also remember around the time Haye was on the BBC maybe 2003? There was an amateur tourney kinda like the Ryder cup UK vs US, it was really good but never heard or saw anything about it since.

I remember that. Was McGuigans fighters vs Sugar Ray Leonards wasnt it?

[BodiesInFlight]

I remember that. Was McGuigans fighters vs Sugar Ray Leonards wasnt it?

No i think that was the UK version of the contender

I could have a lot of things mixed up though

[Tom Cruise]

No i think that was the UK version of the contender

I could have a lot of things mixed up though

Ah yeah that was it. On ITV I think not BBC.

[soul_survivor]

They paid Audley £1m to screen his first 10 pro fights. The problem there was that Audley was self managed and self promoted and the opponents he picked for those 10 fights were awful.

We are talking about guys on the same level as Wilder's first 10 opponents. But these were top of the bill fights, screened at peak time on national TV and heavily publicised due to Audley's celebrity status after winning Olympic gold.

Over 6m people tuned in to his debut, but by the time he had finished demolishing his 10th "bum squad" opponent, hardly anybody was watching and the BBC not only turned down an option to renew Audley's contract, but decided to pull the plug on boxing completely.

It wasn't entirely Audley's fault. The Beeb has always been a very middle class organisation, and boxing is the ultimate "blue collar" working class sport.

Another working class sport, football (soccer) was costing more to televise every season, as players wages went through the roof.

Also, the British Medical Association were making a lot of noise at that time calling for boxing to be banned completely, so that was maybe a factor too.

The image they were trying to portray of boxing as a barbarous activity for the uneducated underclass was reinforced when Audley literally sparked off a riot after one of his bum fights by getting into an argument with former world title holder Herbie Hide, who was ringside.

The article states that they re-signed Audley for an extension so he actually got a second go round on the BBC lol Plus the BBC signed a contract with HBO to show their fights, except DLH or Jones Jr fights, which is a bit weird because I only ever remember HBO fights being on Sky.

I forgot about the calls to ban boxing back then. I'm glad they went away.
I do wonder how much those calls had an effect on the refereeing here in the UK though.

I remember Audleys opponents being mainly doorman. Dare i say it they were worse than bum squads opponents.

The BBC Sport's has been terrible for many years now so i don't think it was all Audley's fault.

I couldn't agree more, BBC sports is a joke. They take huge amounts of money from license fees and spend it on F1 highlights and MOTD. Surely a few million could be put aside for a bit more. BBC is a management hell hole, but that's a whole different topic lol

Yeah the beeb only had highlights or delays for Jones. It may have only been one or two my memory isn't the best

I also remember around the time Haye was on the BBC maybe 2003? There was an amateur tourney kinda like the Ryder cup UK vs US, it was really good but never heard or saw anything about it since.

That must have been the UK contender. Quite a disappointing show, although it did showcase a young Khan and some observations from Leonard.

[kafkod]

I forgot about the calls to ban boxing back then. I'm glad they went away.
I do wonder how much those calls had an effect on the refereeing here in the UK though.

I remember Audleys opponents being mainly doorman. Dare i say it they were worse than bum squads opponents.

The BBC Sport's has been terrible for many years now so i don't think it was all Audley's fault.

Lol, yeah. The guy Audley KO'd in 2 before the riot at York Hall was Mathew Ellis, a nightclub bouncer from Blackpool.

I think Mat would have given some of Wilder's opponents a beating on the cobbles, tbh, but maybe not in the ring.

[hayZ]

BBCs been **** for Boxing for a LONG time now. ITV did a pretty good job in the mid 2000's with Khan, Audley, Danny, Skelton, Enzo. Built them up, got them a lot of recognition. Why do you think Khan is HUGE here, each fight on ITV did big numbers.

[kafkod]

The article states that they re-signed Audley for an extension so he actually got a second go round on the BBC lol Plus the BBC signed a contract with HBO to show their fights, except DLH or Jones Jr fights, which is a bit weird because I only ever remember HBO fights being on Sky.



I couldn't agree more, BBC sports is a joke. They take huge amounts of money from license fees and spend it on F1 highlights and MOTD. Surely a few million could be put aside for a bit more. BBC is a management hell hole, but that's a whole different topic lol



That must have been the UK contender. Quite a disappointing show, although it did showcase a young Khan and some observations from Leonard.

If memory serves me right Audley's second BBC deal was never finalised because they wanted him to stop promoting his own fights.

I remember him kicking up a big fuss and claiming racial discrimination over that. Something about if he'd had blue eyes and blond hair they would have treated him differently.

[jaded]

This thread title is just begging for a punchline.

My thoughts exactly...you know it's there to be had...just can't put my finger on it. I know it doesn't have anything to do with Lil'bron or Lenny Kravitz though...they've already disproved the BBC myth.