Top Rank series on ESPN to feature: Pac/Horn, Loma/Salido 2, Crawford/Indongo

[Eff Pandas]

Well somehow the promoters needs to get pay so they can pay their boxers, I actually think it make sense just start paying boxers depends on how much they make on fight night... it will make the sport a lot more competitive because they will not getting pay A LOT to fight bums, instead they gotta fight better opposition...

What makes sense in boxing & the status quo are two entirely different universes. I'd argue one's fictional & ones reality. And you can't change the status quo THAT much typically cuz boxing is anti-change like a mofo. Look at all the bs PBC had being spewed its away before it even officially did a damn thing lol.

But I mean mainly the problem is more simple. If Manny, Crawford & Loma are making less or the same fighting 3 times a year on this TR ESPN/TR streaming deal as they made fighting twice on HBO you don't think they are gonna be like wtf we doing at some point?

I don't believe Arum is ****** enough to think that can go down without a hitch or there is more money coming in to him AND his fighters doing this move or there is more money coming to him & his fighters in the very near future. Cuz I just don't buy that Arum can pay his fighters equal or less than what HBO was giving them for more work at all or for very long without problems.

[Mitchell Kane]

Looks like Arum will be all over ESPN talking Pacquiao-Horn...

https://mobile.twitter.com/trboxing/status/876784485534248961

Top Rank Boxing TR Boxing

Watch bob Arumtalk #PacHorn on @espn all day:

Mike And Mike at 9:05am

First Take at 10:40am

SportS Nation 2:30pm

@JalenandJacoby at 4:00pm

5:51 AM · Jun 19, 2017

[RoyHater]

My thoughts

https://********/8F0eKJCcc1A

[Beercules]

Bob is about to be on First Take in a couple minutes.

[Eff Pandas]

If that happens...I'd hate to see it, man. I'm not one of these lame ass network fanboys -- I wanna see all the networks thrive. HBO has been a staple of the boxing scene for...since as far as I can remember. Them not being a part of the landscape would depress me.

The writings been on the wall for HBO boxing for a long time. Idk why people are so invested in this merger stuff having any effect on HBO boxing like the budget hasn't been dropping year after year for almost 2 decades now. Its like your girl is coming home late all the time & is taking 3am showers before she comes in contact with you & you don't see how she might be cheating on you type sh^t to me lmfao.

I remember when they had $100Mish/year to spend for several years there for awhile & could make any fight under the sun with the mere desire to make it. Now they got a quarter of that. And even if there is a merger who says this new merged company would even wanna keep boxing?

Plus lets be straight up. While I respect Peter Nelson he's the least impressive guy running HBO boxing ever. Guy was a f#cking boxing writer ffs. And they even lowered the title of the guy running HBO Boxing. The guy in Nelson's role used to be The President of HBO Sports. Nelson is the VP of HBO Sports. That might seem like nothing to some people, but if you know anything about corporate culture its a important distinction that says HBO cares less about HBO Boxing now.

Things change & HBO Boxing being gone this time next year or being gone as we know it (just a HBO Latino & a HBO PPV thing) wouldn't shock me in the slightest. But in HBO's defense this isn't the first time I've said that so who knows. I just know I wouldn't bet on HBO Boxing being around in 3-5 years if the sportsbook was offering a line on it unless it paid great long odds money on it.

[The Gambler1981]

The writings been on the wall for HBO boxing for a long time. Idk why people are so invested in this merger stuff having any effect on HBO boxing like the budget hasn't been dropping year after year for almost 2 decades now. Its like your girl is coming home late all the time & is taking 3am showers before she comes in contact with you & you don't see how she might be cheating on you type sh^t to me lmfao.

I remember when they had $100Mish/year to spend for several years there for awhile & could make any fight under the sun with the mere desire to make it. Now they got a quarter of that. And even if there is a merger who says this new merged company would even wanna keep boxing?

Plus lets be straight up. While I respect Peter Nelson he's the least impressive guy running HBO boxing ever. Guy was a f#cking boxing writer ffs. And they even lowered the title of the guy running HBO Boxing. The guy in Nelson's role used to be The President of HBO Sports. Nelson is the VP of HBO Sports. That might seem like nothing to some people, but if you know anything about corporate culture its a important distinction that says HBO cares less about HBO Boxing now.

Things change & HBO Boxing being gone this time next year or being gone as we know it (just a HBO Latino & a HBO PPV thing) wouldn't shock me in the slightest. But in HBO's defense this isn't the first time I've said that so who knows. I just know I wouldn't bet on HBO Boxing being around in 3-5 years if the sportsbook was offering a line on it unless it paid great long odds money on it.

The thing is the writing has been on the wall for a while and HBO had the power to change that path but they continued to let it get worse. When I first noticed it it was the Kovalev-Stevenson situation, people got caught up in blaming Stevenson for ruining it (for getting a much better deal) normally HBO would have made an offer that couldn't be refused even if it cost them putting on a tune up fight plus the fight cost.

Once HBO was not willing to pay the cost on fights like that, they could no longer be the boss. The problem is HBO still had that boss mentality and that has hurt progress in the sport and fomented divisions in the sport. There are enough of those divisions anyway without the HBO BS pulling things further apart.


This thread though goes back to that conversation we had, Arum is forced to cover the costs to get from a to b, which if he has an investor makes that easier to swallow. My question will be what does this mystery investor actually get, because if someone is throwing in cash to cover this (or help cover) what is their upside. I suppose owning part of the over the top service, but Top Rank doesn't have content like WWE or even UFC. So I find that sort of set-up for just Top Rank not something feasible.

[Eff Pandas]

The thing is the writing has been on the wall for a while and HBO had the power to change that path but they continued to let it get worse. When I first noticed it it was the Kovalev-Stevenson situation, people got caught up in blaming Stevenson for ruining it (for getting a much better deal) normally HBO would have made an offer that couldn't be refused even if it cost them putting on a tune up fight plus the fight cost.

Once HBO was not willing to pay the cost on fights like that, they could no longer be the boss. The problem is HBO still had that boss mentality and that has hurt progress in the sport and fomented divisions in the sport. There are enough of those divisions anyway without the HBO BS pulling things further apart.

I think HBO were the ones who decided to change that path AWAY from boxing is the thing. I don't think they let it get worse. They made a conscious decision to un-invest in boxing over the last 2 decades more & more.

But yea you aren't wrong about them still trying to maintain the boss role doe. Its like the reverse of the baby elephant tied to the pole all grown up & still believing he's too weak to pull the pole out of the ground story. Most think HBO is super strong so they let them get away with more & retain control more despite evidence of the opposite being all around.

This thread though goes back to that conversation we had, Arum is forced to cover the costs to get from a to b, which if he has an investor makes that easier to swallow. My question will be what does this mystery investor actually get, because if someone is throwing in cash to cover this (or help cover) what is their upside. I suppose owning part of the over the top service, but Top Rank doesn't have content like WWE or even UFC. So I find that sort of set-up for just Top Rank not something feasible.

Thats the way I'm feeling pretty much 100%. There is more going on or there is a endgame/goal to this if all the info put out thus far is all the info there is.

[Mitchell Kane]

No. HBO typically retains library rights for every fight they broadcast. As for highlights, they will either use highlights they already have from previous fights on their network, or the fighters team will provide footage to use......

I'm reminded of something Thomas Hauser wrote about Legengardy Nights....

HBO lowered its standards to make Marquez-Licona. The reason? Marquez is promoted by Bob Arum. And a lot of people believe that HBO's fight schedule is now dictated in part by a screw up.

Last year, HBO aired a twelve-part series entitled Legendary Nights highlighting its thirty years of boxing. Unfortunately, it forgot to license relevant fight footage before the programs were put together. The two main beneficiaries of this snafu were Main Events and Top Rank.

Pat English, the attorney for Main Events, acknowledges, "HBO made the documentaries without getting the rights. We were in the same situation as Arum. We decided to ask for what we would have asked for if we hadn't had HBO over a barrel. We didn't get dates as such, but there was a license fee and also some promotional considerations."

Arum wasn't as kind as Main Events. Thus, in the forseeable future, fight fans might be watching some match-ups on HBO that the network would not normally telecast. Or as one HBO insider put it, "Once the mix-up happened, there were ways to remedy the situation other than raping the core product of HBO Sports. But instead of dealing directly with the situation and paying a straight license fee for the footage, HBO entered into a deal that lets Arum put on crap with bring-your-own opponents."

http://www.secondsout.com/columns/thomas-hauser/the-downward-spiral

[BWC]

I think HBO were the ones who decided to change that path AWAY from boxing is the thing. I don't think they let it get worse. They made a conscious decision to un-invest in boxing over the last 2 decades more & more.

But yea you aren't wrong about them still trying to maintain the boss role doe. Its like the reverse of the baby elephant tied to the pole all grown up & still believing he's too weak to pull the pole out of the ground story. Most think HBO is super strong so they let them get away with more & retain control more despite evidence of the opposite being all around.



Thats the way I'm feeling pretty much 100%. There is more going on or there is a endgame/goal to this if all the info put out thus far is all the info there is.

The end game is always fixed cash flows right? PBC, TR, GBP all want fixed income TV deals in place so they don't have to schlep every fight to every outlet trying to make the most money. It gives the fighters stability knowing they will be fighting a nearly guaranteed 3 times a year on ESPN, CBS, FOX, or some other large outlet. And it's great for the sport having boxing on all the major networks throughout the year, and not becoming ever more niche on HBO.

Whether that's TV deals, streaming deals, or something we've never heard of yet, PBC and TR are both making major plays for dat fixed cash. If they both get it, boxing will be changed forever..

[Mitchell Kane]

From Dan Rafael:

"This fight, along with ESPN's in-depth programming surrounding the fight, joins Wimbledon, Home Run Derby and the ESPYS in a stellar early July programming lineup."

The approximate 3½-hour telecast will also air live on ESPN Deportes and stream live on the ESPN App. The fight will take place Sunday afternoon July 2 Brisbane time, but the 14-hour time difference from the United States' East Coast allows for a live prime-time telecast.

Longtime ESPN boxing commentators Joe Tessitore and Teddy Atlas, along with former world titleholder Timothy Bradley Jr. -- who faced Pacquiao three times and whom Atlas now trains -- will call the fight from ringside.

ESPN's coverage of "The Battle of Brisbane" will begin June 30 with live SportsCenter coverage of the Pacquiao-Horn weigh-in during the 7 p.m. ET telecast. Also, during the week of June 26, there will be several classic Pacquiao fights -- Ricky Hatton, Juan Manuel Marquez III and Bradley II -- available on demand and streaming via the ESPN App.

The fight-night telecast will kick off with a preview show and include middleweight Shane Mosley Jr. (10-1, 7 KOs), 26, of Pomona, California -- the son of former three-division world champion Shane Mosley -- taking on Australia's David Toussaint (10-0, 8 KOs) in an eight-round fight.

The main card will begin at 10 p.m. with 2016 Irish Olympic star Michael Conlan (2-0, 2 KOs), 25, taking on Jarrett Owen (5-4-3, 2 KOs), 31, of Brisbane, in a six-round featherweight fight.

Then junior bantamweight Jerwin Ancajas (26-1-1, 17 KOs), 25, of the Philippines, the first world titleholder promoted by Pacquiao's MP Promotions, will make his second defense of his 115-pound crown against Teiru Kino****a (25-1-1, 8 KOs), 31, the mandatory challenger from Japan, in the co-feature, followed by Pacquiao-Horn.

http://www.espn.com/boxing/story/_/i...ve-espn-july-1