Comments Thread For: Sugar Ray Leonard, Albert on Boxing's Rise in Popularity

[BIGPOPPAPUMP]

Prior to 2015, the boxing schedule would hit a certain point in the year – the doldrums of summer, the period surrounding Major League Baseball’s World Series, the winter holidays – where fans would experience a major lull.

Those days are long gone, thanks to the continued progress of Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions series. The brand has so far appeared on seven different networks (NBC, CBS, ESPN, Spike TV, Fox Sports 1, NBC Sports Network and Bounce TV), with a whopping 35 shows having aired or are currently scheduled, from its NBC primetime premiere on March 7 all the way through an October 17 Saturday afternoon edition of PBC on NBC.
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[bigdunny1]

Funny ESPN just ran an article on the fall in ratings on NBC. Not a good trend for PBC

http://espn.go.com/blog/dan-rafael/p...tinues-to-fall

PBC on NBC viewership continues to fall

Heavyweight titlist Deontay Wilder's mismatch with France's unknown Johann Duhaupas on Saturday night on NBC's Premier Boxing Champions card was not a hit with viewers.

Wilder (35-0, 34 KOs), who stopped Duhaupas (32-3) in the 11th round of the expected one-sided fight, headlined a prime-time card that received very little buzz given the nature of the match. The overall card, which also featured heavyweight Dominic Breazeale (16-0, 14 KOs) getting a very questionable 10-round decision win against Fred Kassi (18-4-1, 10 KOs), averaged 2.2 million viewers, according to Nielsen. It peaked at 3 million viewers during the main event.

Yes, the card was competing with a full slate of college football, but it was nonetheless the least-viewed PBC card on NBC in prime time since its launch in March.

It was the fourth PBC on NBC card in prime time, and each has declined compared to the previous edition.

The March 7 debut card, topped by Keith Thurman-Robert Guerrero, averaged 3.37 million viewers; the second card, headlined by Danny Garcia-Lamont Peterson on April 11, drew an average of 2.88 million viewers; and the third show, headlined by Shawn Porter-Adrien Broner on June 20, dropped to an average of 2.33 million viewers.

The downward trend has to be troubling for the PBC, which has steadfastly declined to discuss its goals for viewership. But PBC, created by boxer adviser/manager Al Haymon, is being put on as a time buy with some $450 million in investor money from a hedge fund hoping the series would draw large enough audiences and advertising revenue to entice a network or networks to ultimately pay for the product or even buy it outright.

According to Sports Media Watch, however, Saturday's telecast had a smaller audience for a prime-time boxing or MMA event on network television than any of the past 25 since 2008, which includes all 16 editions of UFC on Fox, five EliteXC/Strikeforce MMA cards on CBS and the four PBC on NBC shows.

[johnnycontrolet]

Looks like a press release of Haymon`s PR staff....The ratings are so far ridiculous for major networks

[bigdunny1]

Looks like a press release of Haymon`s PR staff....The ratings are so far ridiculous for major networks

Yup not to mention his ratings on other networks have been bad as well. For example the FoxSports1 PBC ratings are terrible. Spike ratings have been bad just look at Adonis Stevenson ratings a few week ago a complete flop. Reruns of Cops on Spike at the same day and time blow it out the water. ESPN ratings have been weak with the exception of the Leo Santa Cruz fight. And most glaring is the ratings were lackluster and declining basically each month since PBC debuted and this was during the slow time of year without Football. Now that Football is back the ratings will only get worse.

[LoadedWraps]

Prior to 2015, the boxing schedule would hit a certain point in the year – the doldrums of summer, the period surrounding Major League Baseball’s World Series, the winter holidays – where fans would experience a major lull.

Those days are long gone, thanks to the continued progress of Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions series. The brand has so far appeared on seven different networks (NBC, CBS, ESPN, Spike TV, Fox Sports 1, NBC Sports Network and Bounce TV), with a whopping 35 shows having aired or are currently scheduled, from its NBC primetime premiere on March 7 all the way through an October 17 Saturday afternoon edition of PBC on NBC.
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WAR BOXING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Teetotaler]

why am i not surprised? if jake donovan gets on his knees for floyd, why wouldnt he for haymon

[sicko]

Yeah but I feel Haymon is wasting money on Air Time by even allowing mismatches to be on Network TV.

Rumor has it that he is working on expanding overseas and working with promoters overseas which I think would be very wise because boxing in the US is not in a good space right now at all. Something needs to be done to get people excited about boxing in America again and it is going to take an American to do that not a Outsider/Foreigner

While as a Boxing fan already I'm grateful for all of the Boxing on TV but Haymon already knows the Hardcore Boxing Fans will Tune In, it is the Casuals/New Fans he is struggle to capture more of.

This is not about Haymon or his match ups, Boxers need to get out and sell themselves and try to spark interest for their Fights. You can't just get TV Deals and expect people to watch, you must have that Charismatic promoter like Don King to sell the product. PBC needs to find a face for its brand like how UFC has Dana White. A guy who is always out selling the sport, selling the product, answering questions and all those things. PBC don't have that, they really don't even Promote their Events Much. The fighters need to get out with the PEOPLE and sell themselves to them. Stop only talking to Boxing Media and expand!

Many Casuals consider boxing to be extremely boring and it is not just the styles, the Mismatches and watching 1 guy have his way with the other guy is not entertaining.

Haymon has the right idea but somebody has to be at the forefront to sell the Merchandise.

[pugil1st]

Some of you guys sound like you're happy about it. How can you call yourself a true boxing fans? If ratings are't good and the shows get canceled then guess what? And all this complaining about the "best not fighting the best". It's ALWAYS been like that. Ali didn't fight Foreman and Frazier every couple of months you know? There were quite a few "journey men" in there too. It's a business and you need to build those bigger fights with the ones we see on free TV. Stop complaining about numbers that have nothing to do with you or your wallet and start watching these fights. Don't listen to fatboy Rafael. If you didn't watch Wilder last weekend then you missed seeing him tested and possibly develop into what could be a great American heavyweight.

[Larry the boss]

Great for boxing.........no matter if the ratings are falling or not,thats more eyes on boxing then it would usually receive and more boxing for me to watch

[bigdunny1]

Besides the bad ratings what is not heavily reported on is the lawsuits aimed at Haymon and PBC. The same one that fans told me no worry it will be thrown out of court. Sent back to arbitrator. Well look what the judge said. This almost guarantees that some of the shady things Haymon is doing will be exposed to the public. Unless there is a settlement where he pays GB out the arse. The lawsuits are more troubling for PBC then the down spiral of ratings.

http://www.latimes.com/sports/sportsnow/la-sp-sn-boxing-pbc-haymon-arum-de-la-hoya-20150917-story.html

Judge's ruling could force answers to how Al Haymon's Premier Boxing

By Lance Pugmire

Powerful boxing manager Al Haymon’s attempt to move Oscar De La Hoya’s $300-million antitrust lawsuit against him out of the courts and toward a potential settlement in arbitration was denied this week by a federal judge.

The denial followed a similar decision by an arbitrator who has presided over De La Hoya’s split with his former Chief Executive Richard Schaefer and Haymon, and sets up the possibility of depositions, discovery exchanges and other details about how Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions operates.

Haymon manages Floyd Mayweather Jr. and several other high-profile fighters who split with Golden Boy this year, including unbeaten fighters Deontay Wilder, Leo Santa Cruz, Keith Thurman and Danny Garcia.

PBC started staging fights in March and has time-buy deals to have cards televised by NBC, ABC, CBS and ESPN, among others.

“Everything is going to come out,” said veteran fight promoter Bob Arum, whose Top Rank Inc. is also suing Haymon.

Haymon has a policy to not speak to reporters.

De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions is suing Haymon, the creator of PBC, for alleged violations of the federal Muhammad Ali Act that forbids a boxing manager from operating simultaneously as a fight promoter.

Haymon has retained promoters such as TGB Promotions in Sherman Oaks and Lou DiBella in New York to handle the promotions of various PBC cards, but Golden Boy claims in its lawsuit that Haymon is paying those promoters a small fee and actually directing fighter purses himself.

In addition to the backing of a Kansas asset management company, Waddell & Reed, PBC is backed by other shareholders who could be identified as a result of the ruling in the Los Angeles court of U.S. Central District Court Judge John F. Walter.

Emails and other exchanges that reveal how PBC conducts business are also expected to be sought by those suing Haymon.

Arum sued Haymon earlier this year, alleging his practices intend to monopolize the sport. Arum lost former middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. to a settlement with PBC and is fighting in court to keep unbeaten super-featherweight champion Mikey Garcia from fleeing to PBC.

In his Tuesday ruling, Walter supported a Sept. 1 decision by arbitrator and retired judge Daniel H. Weinstein that determining the alleged antitrust actions “are not within the scope of the arbitration provision and that those claims are not presently arbitrable.”

Walter also scolded Haymon’s attorneys.

Although “the court was confident that defendants’ counsel would realize that the motion was now moot and withdraw it to avoid wasting judicial resources, counsel made the puzzling decision to pursue the motion and raised patently frivolous arguments in the reply,” Walter wrote.

Attorneys for Golden Boy Promotions and PBC did not immediately respond to interview requests from The Times.

Arum said Haymon’s attorneys have moved to dismiss his $100-million lawsuit filed on the same grounds as De La Hoya’s, but said the motion “has no chance.”