Comments Thread For: HBO Gave Up Boxing One Year Ago: Does Boxing Miss HBO?

[BIGPOPPAPUMP]

By Mitch Abramson - It's been 13 months since HBO decided to move away from boxing, and two things remain true. HBO still doesn't do boxing, and Larry Merchant is still making astute observations. Yes, it's been a little more than a year since HBO decided to throw in the towel, announcing on Sept. 27, 2018 that it was essentially retiring from the...
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[Idunnoshet]

F**k Peter Nelson !

[Andrij]

Not really . ESPN and DAZN decently replaced HBO. Showtime will probably leave soon too. FOX is taking over.

[_original_]

Nobody has matched their top level production but other than that boxing is doing just fine without them.

[Freeworld124]

Larry Merchant hit the nail on the head. I really dont miss paying HBO just to see boxing. I'm not a game of thrones fan. I still haven't seen one episode of it to this day. And I dont watch anything else they show that I cant see later on. HBO got out at the right time.

[jvsnypes]

I grew up watching HBO Boxing. From Leonard, Tyson, Roy Jones, Pernell Whitaker, Meldrick Taylor, Holyfield, Bowe, Lewis, De La Hoya, Moseley, all the way up to Pacquiao and Mayweather. HBO was always the top dog of the sport. But somewhere along the line, the commentating got horrible and too opinionated. They also lost many of their top fighters to Showtime, and their commentators were on point. And I think that’s what actually forced them out of the business.

[Sceptic]

I cancelled my subscription and never looked back.

[Vodkaholic]

The silver lining for me is no more roy jones commentary

[Blond Beast]

I grew up watching HBO Boxing. From Leonard, Tyson, Roy Jones, Pernell Whitaker, Meldrick Taylor, Holyfield, Bowe, Lewis, De La Hoya, Moseley, all the way up to Pacquiao and Mayweather. HBO was always the top dog of the sport. But somewhere along the line, the commentating got horrible and too opinionated. They also lost many of their top fighters to Showtime, and their commentators were on point. And I think that’s what actually forced them out of the business.

Right. HBO boxing is nostalgic to me also. I used to have their original theme on my gym playlist. The commentary got very predictable which is expected after so long I guess. There’s way too many commentators and ex fighters on the productions now. There’s like two desks full of people. I’ve seen promo video packages, choreographed entrances, sure sum I enjoy. But honestly I like it when fights get down to business and theres minimal fireworks, delays, hype. Time for talk is over, it’s business time.

[Boxing Logic]

What's been lost with HBO leaving is providing the context of the fights to the fans. On DAZN they don't distinguish between who the best prospects are, and who are just average, who the best fighters are, and who are just top 10. HBO used to be better at that but then they cared more about spinning narratives than telling the truth so we lost some of that with HBO too.