Comments Thread For: HBO Sports Issues Statement on Decision To Drop Boxing

[jdp28tx]

The writing was on the wall for a long time. Some are around here celebrating but that makes no sense to me. Who knows what Showtime will do in the next few years. Remember they showed boxing to compete with HBO. Now their competitor no longer shows it, they themselves might look for an exit strategy. You will never know how the top brass at a network might want to redistribute their resources.

If Showtime does the same thing down the road we are all screwed.

Agreed. HBO has a rich Boxing history. Leonard vs Haglar, Tyson vs Douglas, Chavez vs Taylor, I can go on and further back in time. Showtime boxing program spends money on the wrong things. Instead of investing on better production value they spend money on getting more announcers. Showtime does not even show punchstats.

Yes, boxing is on other channels now, but now we have to sit through commercials, we do not get to hear what is going on between rounds. ESPN seems to think its ok to advertise a show, but then let other sows run late and us boxing fans miss anywhere from 3 rds to an entire fight.

PBS failed in spectacular fashion. They lost all the channels they initially signed up with and now they are only with FOX. And I doubt they they will honor their new contract with FOX since Haymon cannot seem to get his fighters to fight each other often enough.

This is not a day to celebrate. Those who are celebrating HBO leaving boxing are petty, immature babies. They are not true boxing fans if they think HBO dropping boxing is a good thing.

[Fabes88]

That doesnt make people who watch PBC/Showtime groupies either.

I definitely didn’t mean that either. I’m talking about the minority who have some sort of strange loyalty to channels and constantly bash anything non pbc related. You can be obtuse if you want but I think you know what I mean. I have nothing against pbc at All. In fact I recently went to the Garcia vs porter fight when I was in nyc and I had an amazing time.

[rob g]

The internet has taken over. ESPN+, DAZN, even Facebook and YouTube are showing Live Fights. No one watches TV anymore. Everything is online now

[aboutfkntime]

Talking about the pot calling the kettle black. Remember when Billy Joe Saunders was cutting up on Canelo?

“Middleweight world titleholder Billy Joe Saunders has failed a Voluntary Anti-Doping Association drug test for the banned substance oxilofrine, a stimulant, multiple sources with knowledge of the test results told ESPN on Thursday. Saunders is preparing for an Oct. 20 defense against Demetrius Andrade in Boston but that is likely to be canceled and Saunders is likely to be stripped of his 160-pound world title.”

oh shhhhh.....

[jdp28tx]

HBO took a hit when it did Al Haymon dirty, also the commentators were terrible and were getting worst, they were very biased to certain fighters

They did not do anything wrong to Haymon. You say HBO was putting on terrible fights well that is partly Haymon's doing. HBO told Haymon to get lost because he was not putting quality fights yet he wanted millions for fights like Andre Berto vs Freddy Hernandez. Al Haymon refused to put on quality fights. This is the main reason PBC failed because Haymon put on a ****ty product with just bad fights. I believe Showtime will probably leave boxing in the future once the head of Showtime or CBS sees how much money Showtime has given Al Haymon and how Al Haymon has not delivered good enough fights.

[aboutfkntime]

nothing up on boxingscene yet, but yea.....


WBO middleweight world champion Billy Joe Saunders has reportedly failed a Voluntary Anti-Doping Association drug test for the banned substance oxilofrine, a stimulant of the amphetamine class that is thought to allow people to burn fat faster and lose weight.
Saunders is preparing to defend his WBO title against Demetrius Andrade in Boston next month but that fight could now be in jeopardy after lead ESPN boxing reporter Dan Rafael reported that Saunders had failed the drugs test.

shlt, shocking news.....

in before the tainted hedgehog jokes

[THEFRESHBRAWLER]

Now its time for the boys at HBO boxing to star faxing Al Haymon for a new job.

Lmaooo! And that my friend is what you call checkmate. Props to Showtime for taking a gamble with that huge contract they gave Floyd

[Johnwoo8686]

😂 I know let’s ban all pbc fighters see how that turns out let’s all do distance ourselves from the biggest name in the sport in Floyd Mayweather while hyping unproven Europeans who don’t speak English that’ll save HBO 😝

THIS!!! A lot of these boxing people, especially the ones in the media, have to realize that constantly bashing and criticizing the biggest name in their sport in Floyd Mayweather was only going to hurt their brand. They also hyped up Eastern European fighters who most Americans don't know or care for to an insane level.

It's sad because I actually enjoyed HBO boxing for years but you can tell they lost their touch. Bias commentators, big fights not getting made when they should, and promoting unproven fighters only hurt HBO in the long run.

[fanofbox]

I don't think people are celebrating the end of HBO Boxing. I myself am a little sadden only because I grew up watching it but I also grew up playing Nintendo and doesn't mean I continue to play Nintendo today.

HBO boxing in many aspects was a black eye to boxing and one of the reasons many fights didn't get made. The battle between showtime and HBO is over which allows matchups to now be made between Fighters that belong to each company.

Somewhere in the life of boxing, boxing became less about rankings and champions and more about alliances and money. Gone are the days where promoters and networks co-promoted fights and the best fought the best.

HBO leaving now opens up the door to some great matchups potentially happening. Let's hope that showtime, ESPN, PBC, and Dazn take this opportunity to come together and bring boxing back!

[champion4ever]

Lmaooo! And that my friend is what you call checkmate. Props to Showtime for taking a gamble with that huge contract they gave Floyd

No doubt; Since he holds all the cards in boxing and is the biggest mover and shaker in the sport