Comments Thread For: Hearn Reveals Big Plans For U.S. Market, Being a Force on HBO

[Eff Pandas]

Honestly don't care much about HBO. If it's part of a bigger vision like getting PBC/Matchroom on TNT/TBS then that's a big deal..

Is TNT/TBS/Ted Turner looking to get in the boxing business or something? Why do you bring those channels up?

[JuniorTorres720]

I like it. Best wishes to Matchroom Boxing. Competition equals better match ups.

[AddiX]

This is big for boxing, Hearn can take over haymons guys and permanently end the blockade between Haymon, hbo, and promoters who don't work with Haymon.

Withh the way hbo has taken a stance against bad fights and overpaying for fighters, we could be on the verge of seeing good fights consistently.

I think everyone in the business knows the sport needs major change or they all will lose in the end.

[Butch.McRae]

This is big for boxing, Hearn can take over haymons guys and permanently end the blockade between Haymon, hbo, and promoters who don't work with Haymon.

Withh the way hbo has taken a stance against bad fights and overpaying for fighters, we could be on the verge of seeing good fights consistently.

I think everyone in the business knows the sport needs major change or they all will lose in the end.

This post is kind of silly considering 2017 has been the best year for competitive fights we've seen since probably the 90s. I think it's clear what we need is competition and cooperation. Both of which has been occuring in the last 18 months across almost all of the companies.

I think Top Rank is the only company that hasn't had a promotional "crossover" fight in the last 12 months or so, but they have in the last 18 months. Who are these promoters that don't work with Haymon? Roc Nation?

[Digital Mouth]

This has epic fail written all over it. Stick to what you know best and that's across the pond in London. Someone's getting too big for their own boots.

[AddiX]

This post is kind of silly considering 2017 has been the best year for competitive fights we've seen since probably the 90s. I think it's clear what we need is competition and cooperation. Both of which has been occuring in the last 18 months across almost all of the companies.

I think Top Rank is the only company that hasn't had a promotional "crossover" fight in the last 12 months or so, but they have in the last 18 months. Who are these promoters that don't work with Haymon? Roc Nation?

The walls started the come down between promoters and networks, but what Hearn is promising these guys is that he is bringing them to hbo, which means the walls may finally be coming down for sure.

the only time any promoters or non CBS affiliated network have worked with Haymon was when they basically had no where else to go for opponents. Most of haymons guys are still only fighting on Showtime, or PBC (of that even exists anymore).

Only a few have actually crossed over to get hbo fights.

[rickJen]

About time a Brit does something about this horrible custom in the sport like fighting once/year.
It's a huge market, but no one in the industry is able to capitalize on it.
Fans could be hearing Sweet Caroline sang in the US before fights begin.

[BWC]

Is TNT/TBS/Ted Turner looking to get in the boxing business or something? Why do you bring those channels up?

TNT/TBS are part of the same company as HBO. For awhile it was thought HBO/TNT might get into the UFC business..

[Scipio2009]

On a bright note, maybe some of Matchroom's so-called next gen can showcase their talent in the US & vice versa!

Sky Sports will get as much boxing as they want, with any spillover maybe heading to the US. I don't think he's starving for dates in the UK.

[Scipio2009]

Has HBO every had 1 promoter doing all their shows like Hearn is saying his goal is with them? Thats a bold ass goal right there.

Hearn & Haymon must got something going on cuz he's gonna need a roster to do that & Haymon is the only guy who's got a unaffiliated roster & the Jacobs pickup seems like a solid clue.

Showtime gonna get left out in the dust now if Hearn ends up picking up more Haymon guys for HBO shows???

For a long while Top Rank was the only company that HBO seemed to get fights from. And, when Oscar spun off from Top Rank to form Golden Boy, HBO would only seem to get fights from Top Rank and Golden Boy. So kind of.

Showtime will be fine; HBO is not going to increase it's boxing budget in the near future, Showtime/CBS have committed too much to their boxing franchise to cut their boxing budget, and Eddie Hearn is only looking at optimistically delivering 6 shows in 2018. Compare that to the maybe 25 shows that Showtime/CBS will run in 2018.

Hearn can say what he wants about plans for 4/5 years down the line (whether HBO is still in the boxing business by then is a real question), but a far likelier idea would seem to be that Haymon sticks with his relationship with Showtime, and Haymon/Hearn leverage Daniel Jacobs (and 1-2 other fighters) to gobble up another 5 of the maybe 12 dates that HBO will run.

Between the pay dates on Showtime/CBS, the pay dates that Hearn can get on HBO, the likely coming pay deal from FOX/FS1 (no breaking news, that just seems like the direction that things are going), and the other PBC pay dates, Haymon and Haymon-affiliated fighters are likely looking at 50-60 paid TV dates to work through.