Why Boxing Needs To Root For Al Haymon For A Change

By Jake Donovan

As Al Haymon prepares for one of the most anticipated—and secretive—press conferences in recent memory, details are beginning to leak out regarding the launching of his upcoming series on NBC and its affiliate networks.

The powerful yet cryptic adviser has taken over as the primary provider of content for boxing on NBC and NBC Sports Network, replacing Main Events whose deal with the network expired last year after a three-year relationship.

Kicking off the series, Haymon Boxing will be presented in prime time. The first show is set for March 7, to air live on NBC, preceding the long-running ‘Saturday Night Live’ series. Former three-division champ Adrien Broner will co-headline the inaugural episode,

that Goossen Promotions—one of several promotional companies whose services are regularly sought by Haymon—has been granted approval to promote a boxing event at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

The brash Ohioan will face 140 lb. gatekeeper John Molina Jr., who is already in New York City to attend Wednesday’s press conference at the NBC building.

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At the very least, the series is kicking off with a bang, though hope exists that there will be plenty more to come.

“It’s been a frustrating time for all of us, but there will be A LOT of big fights announced on Wednesday and in the next few days,” revealed one source who is involved with several fighters under Haymon’s advisory banner.

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revealed that the March 7 kickoff will serve as one of five episodes to air in prime time on NBC’s flagship network. Six more shows will air on NBC during Saturday afternoons. The balance of the cards under their agreement to air Saturday evenings on NBC Sports Network, the latter similar to the deal Main Events had with the network.

It’s been nearly two decades since boxing has aired on free network TV during primetime, going back to the initial launching of Don King’s series on Fox, still known at the time as “TV’s fourth network.”

The Dec. ’95 card was topped by Mike Tyson—at the time a former heavyweight champ two fights into his comeback following a three-year jail stint—knocking out Buster Mathis Jr. inside of three rounds. The bout took place in Philadelphia, the only time during his Hall of Fame career in which Tyson fought in the famous fight town. The show also saw Terry Norris defeat Paul Vaden to gain recognition as the World lineal super welterweight champion, filling a nine-year void following Thomas Hearns abandoning the throne and the division in 1986.

Tyson’s presence on the show certainly kicked off the series with a bang, registering more than 10 million viewers, a huge ratings pull for Fox at the time. It was the only card to air in prime time, however; subsequent shows aired briefly during overnight slots on Fox—no earlier than 11:00pm ET—before being moved to Fox Sports Net (now known as Fox Sports 1) and eventually canceled altogether as ratings steadily declined.

Boxing has only occasionally appeared on free network TV in the 19-plus years since then, save for a sparsely-watched card in March '98. Fox aired "Oscar Night At the Fights", a show designed to compete against the Academy Awards (commonly known as 'The Oscars') and featuring then-World welterweight champion Oscar de la Hoya in the broadcast booth.

The five-year drought came to an end when Main Events announced a Saturday afternoon series on NBC in 2003. The deal carried over one more year before going the way of the dodo.

Both NBC and Fox took a stab at introducing boxing fans to the world of reality television. While NBC was assembling The Contender series, Fox and Golden Boy Promotions rushed along The Next Great Champ, which—despite airing first in 2004—was viewed as a ripoff of The Contender, prompting two lawsuits. Abysmal ratings and a complete absence of buzz forced the Fox brass to banish the series to Fox Sports Net after just five episodes.

The Contender at least ran the full first season in prime time on NBC, although ratings were never strong during its run in Spring 2005. NBC opted to cancel the series following the season finale, in which Sergio Mora decisioned Peter Manfredo to claim the $1 million prize. Subsequent seasons ran on ESPN and Versus before being canceled altogether following the conclusion of the fourth season.

Past attempts at bringing boxing back to network television have all served as a harsh reminder of why the sport has largely lived on cable for the past 20 years, at least in the way of stateside presentation. Once a staple of Saturday afternoon lineups for sports junkies, the networks found themselves unable to compete with cable giant HBO, who went out of its way to price out its competition, though to the point of fighters failing to grasp fair market value for their services.

The result was boxing going from having served way back as the second most popular sport in the United States—behind baseball—to barely a niche sport for the past few decades.

Offerings on NBC and CBS in recent years were celebrated by boxing fans as its most watched events, but its ratings pulls barely causing a ripple in the general sports world.

For the second time in less than a decade, Golden Boy Promotions once again pulled a fast one on an industry rival. Main Events had announced its plans to air a rematch between Tomasz Adamek and Steve Cunningham live on NBC, and in fact hit the airwaves late in the afternoon on the December 22, 2012, the last Saturday before Christmas.

Shortly after the announcement, Golden Boy decided to alter its December 15th show—with the heart of it slated for Showtime—in order to present a portion of it on CBS. Leo Santa Cruz was chosen to appear on free TV, pulling in more than 1.6 million viewers for his 12-round decision over Alberto Guevara. The Adamek-Cunningham rematch similar ratings, along with a peak audience of 3.2 million on the afternoon.

Both far exceeded expectations going in. The problem for the sport, however, has always been continuity. Santa Cruz’ showing on CBS presented a tease of more to come from Golden Boy and Showtime, the latter a subsidiary of CBS Corporation.

However, the only other offering from the sport to air on the network was a one-hour documentary on Floyd Mayweather—a segment aptly named Mayweather—in April ’13. The episode was designed to drum up interest for his May ’13 Pay-Per-View clash with Robert Guerrero, the first of a lucrative six-fight deal with Showtime.

Aside from the documentary and a small handful of commercials that ran during the 2013 NCAA March Madness college basketball tournament, boxing has been largely ignored by CBS.

NBC has at least remained in the game, with a few Saturday afternoon offerings on its flagship station sprinkled out over the past couple of years. The shows included intriguing background stories of the fighters, an extension of the well-intended

which chronicled 36 hours in the life of a fighter on an upcoming show. The segments were introudced less than three months into Main Events’ agreement with NBC Sports.

Main Events’ vision of its boxing series was that every fighter has a story to tell and so should every fight show. The formula was followed for a while, beginning with a profile on Zab Judah which aired in the days leading up to his career-resurrecting knockout of previously unbeaten Vernon Paris in March ’12.

Before long, the pre-fight series slowly faded to black, as did the Fight Night series as a whole. Main Events’ run topped out with an epic doubleheader last April, arguably the best boxing card of 2014. Curtis Stevens and Steve Cunningham—two series regulars—both scored dramatic wins over previously unbeaten fighters. Stevens rallied back to stop Tureano Johnson in the 10th and final round of their wild middleweight affair, while Cunningham climbed off the canvas to score a huge upset decision win over Amir Mansour to reemerge as a player in the heavyweight division.

It was a rare bright spot in an otherwise miserable year for boxing. For Main Events, it was effectively last call, as the New Jersey-based promotional outfit soon learned that its deal with NBC Sports Network would not extend beyond the agreement in place, which was due to expire by year’s end.

With news of Haymon taking over the series in 2015, Main Events admittedly put less effort than usual into its remaining shows, while planning for its own future on HBO, ESPN2 and wherever else their fighters can shine.

One thing that never came of the NBCSN Fight Night series was prime time recognition beyond its own cable network. In that regard, Haymon and NBC have already jumped ahead of the curve in efforts to expand its viewing audience. The first taste came during the Wild Card round of the National Football League (NFL) postseason, with commercials of Haymon’s series airing during the Baltimore Ravens’ win over division rival Pittsburgh Steelers on January 3.

Having learned from past mistakes—such as investing $2 million per episode for The Contender—NBC has nearly nothing to lose in the upcoming deal. Haymon is investing $20 million into the series, not counting however much more he’s had to spend to free up his fighters from

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Whatever the cost, boxing fans can only hope for the payoff to be sweet, especially following one of the least eventful years—in the ring—in recent history. For months, talks have surrounded whether or not some of the more notable fights to be made will in fact materialize.

Beginning Wednesday, the conversation among the sport’s hardcore fan base will turn to what will become of the series. Hopefully March 7 will begin a trend where for the foreseeable future everyone is once again talking about boxing, and for the right reasons for a change.

Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene.com, as well as a member of Transnational Boxing Ratings Board and the Boxing Writers Association of America. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox