Last HBO televised fight
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Last HBO televised fight
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Pascal is a potential hall of fame........ I hope not, no offence to pascal he's way better than I could ever be, but is this all it takes to get into the hall of fame.... He's referring to the hatian sports hall of fame I assume.
There is absolutely nothing, short of a complete miracle, that would get him into the HOF. He would basically have to rejuvenate his career and unify the division.Quote:
Originally Posted by palmerq
But a win in this fight will cement his status ;DQuote:
Originally Posted by powerpuncherThere is absolutely nothing, short of a complete miracle, that would get him into the HOF. He would basically have to rejuvenate his career and unify the division.Quote:
Originally Posted by palmerq
Boxing gets big new platforms even as HBO exits sport
https://s.yimg.com/it/api/res/1.2/jj...11001360765150
Dmitry Bivol knew where he wanted to go in his boxing career - straight to the top of one of the HBO cards he used to watch replays of while growing up in Russia.
Now Bivol is a light heavyweight champion - and on Saturday night he'll finally be an HBO headliner. He meets former champion Jean Pascal in Atlantic City as the featured bout of HBO's World Championship Boxing series.
The fight is big for Bivol, but the occasion for boxing fans is bittersweet. After 45 years, HBO is pulling the plug on its premium boxing coverage with its last prime-time boxing card.
First, though, Bivol gets his shot to shine.
''It was my dream to do this,'' Bivol said. ''We had a couple of offers to fight on another channel, another platform. But I took this chance to realize my dream.''
HBO - which began in the boxing business with George Foreman's knockout of Joe Frazier in 1973 - says it is leaving boxing because research shows the sport doesn't increase subscriptions to the premium network. Boxing fans need not worry, though, because plenty of others are entering the mix.
There's a seismic shift in boxing, which for years relied on HBO and Showtime for top fights, and pay-per-view for the biggest fights. HBO may be leaving, but other networks and platforms are rushing to fill the gap - and then some.
That includes longtime rival Showtime, which is looking for ways to expand its boxing offerings.
''We know it drives business, we know it attracts ratings,'' said Stephen Espinoza, president of Showtime Sports. ''We have a long history in the sport and believe in the sport. If anything we're becoming more active and looking for more fights.''
Indeed, the demand for live programming is prompting a lot of broadcasters to take a look at boxing once again. And they're making plans to show fights on everything from free over-the-air television to subscription streaming apps.
Superstar middleweight Canelo Alvarez, who had been a big attraction for HBO, signed a deal last month to fight exclusively on the streaming service DAZN through 2023. Though all details weren't revealed, the contract is believed to be an 11-fight deal worth a minimum of $365 million for Alvarez, whose last fight with Gennady Golovkin was televised on HBO pay-per-view.
Instead of paying $84.95 for one pay-per-view fight, fans can buy DAZN for a monthly fee of $9.99. The service has also locked up Anthony Joshua, the big British heavyweight champion, along with a number of other fighters from Golden Boy Promotions and Joshua's British promoter, Matchroom Sport.
''This is huge for boxing, huge for Canelo and huge for Golden Boy,'' Golden Boy promoter Oscar De La Hoya said when the deal was announced last month. ''Golden Boy is at the forefront of something very monumental for the sport of boxing.''
Here's a look at some of the ways boxing will be presented - and sold - in the upcoming months:
SHOWTIME: The premium cable network was Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s television partner for the biggest grossing fights of his career and, unlike HBO, is aggressively pursuing top fights. One of those takes place Dec. 1 when heavyweight titlist Deontay Wilder defends his crown against former champion Tyson Fury, while Manny Pacquiao returns in January to fight Adrien Broner. Both will be pay-per-view events.
ESPN: The biggest sports network is so bullish on boxing it tore up a four-year deal with Top Rank signed last year and replaced it with a new seven-year pact. ESPN agreed to televise 54 live boxing events a year in addition to other boxing-related programming. Some of the fights will be on ESPN, building on the success of its Saturday night fight series, while others will be on the ESPN+ streaming app that costs $4.99 a month.
FOX: Fox agreed last month to a four-year multi-platform deal with Premier Boxing Champions that will feature 10 ''marquee fight nights'' annually in prime time on the Fox network, with 12 more cards to air on Fox Sports 1 and Fox Deportes each year. The network recently announced it will also hold its first boxing pay-per-view, with Mikey Garcia meeting Errol Spence Jr. next March 16 from AT&T Stadium in Texas.
DAZN: The streaming service, which launched in the U.S. in September, inked its first deal with Matchroom Sport, which promotes Joshua and other top British fighters. It upped the ante with the Alvarez signing, with his first fight Dec. 15 against Rocky Fielding. DAZN will also be televising a weeknight baseball cut-in show under a recently announced $100 million a year deal with Major League Baseball.
NBC: The network is expected to announce a deal with promoter Main Events to broadcast fights both on the main network and the NBC sports network.
The explosion of new deals means boxing will be available in more places and more ways than ever before. Some of it will be on free TV, though the new streaming models will cost monthly fees and some of the biggest fights will still be on pay-per-view.
Boxing fans can look forward to many more hours of their favorite sport on TV, though some of the bigger fights may be more difficult to make because fighters are tied to different networks or platforms. There's also the risk that there will be so much televised boxing that the fights will look like filler material, though Espinoza believes there is room for everyone at the table.
''I think it's good for the health of the sport to have multiple different networks and platforms to be on,'' Espinoza said.
So far the fighters themselves seem to agree with that. Bivol certainly does, as he looks forward to the bidding for his talents after he headlines the final HBO card.
''I'm glad there are many platforms going to show boxing. It's good for our sport,'' he said. ''We now have some offers from other platforms and after the fight we'll decide which one to pick.''
https://uk.sports.yahoo.com/boxing-g...8881--box.html
All these different platforms are great, until they start interfering with good fights.
It's ironic really, the streaming and cable tv seemingly in a fight for dominance now. Showtime and HBO have been making fans choose one or the other for years now with live card vs card.Quote:
Originally Posted by Alpha
The streaming almost feels like a return to isolating the individual viewing experience in a way.
Yea I hate conflicting cards. I sometimes find it better to watch one live and catch the other(s) the next day, otherwise it can be distracting from the fights.Quote:
Originally Posted by SpicoliIt's ironic really, the streaming and cable tv seemingly in a fight for dominance now. Showtime and HBO have been making fans choose one or the other for years now with live card vs card.Quote:
Originally Posted by Alpha
The streaming almost feels like a return to isolating the individual viewing experience in a way.
Q&A: Dmitry Bivol on unifying light heavyweight titles, Jean Pascal criticism
Dmitry Bivol is one of the fastest rising stars in boxing and many have proclaimed him to be the future of the light heavyweight division.
Bivol (14-0, 11 KOs) won the interim WBA championship in his seventh career fight, defeating Felix Valera in May 2016. After making two interim title defenses, the sanctioning body made Bivol the full champion in the fall of 2017, when Andre Ward retired and Badou Jack vacated the belt.
Since then, the native of Tokmak, Kyrgyzstan has successfully defended the title on three occasions, winning two of those bouts via stoppage.
https://s.yimg.com/it/api/res/1.2/N4...a6cc16c3b243f7
The 27-year-old now looks to go 3-0 in 2018 and close the year out on a positive note when he battles former WBC titleholder, Jean Pascal, on Saturday night (10:00 p.m. ET, HBO), live from the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
Sporting News recently caught up with the 27-year-old knockout artist ahead of Saturday's showdown against Pascal. We discussed why he was disappointed in his last fight, the criticism of facing Pascal and becoming the undisputed 175-pound champion in 2019.
(Editor's note: This interview has been edited for length and clarity.)
Sporting News: I read your blog that you have been doing for HBO ahead of the fight and you said that you were disappointed by your performance in August against Issac Chilemba. Why did you feel that way?
Dmitry Bivol: I know people like it when I knock guys out, but I didn't give it to them. That was sad for me, but I showed people how I can box. I showed people my boxing skills, my defense, my movement. Now, I know I can fight without knocking people out.
How would you grade your performance in that fight?
I would probably give myself a six or a seven. If would I have knocked him out, then it would have been an eight or a nine. I never give myself a 10.
What do you feel you need to do to improve for Nov. 24?
I need to improve on my footwork and my defense, so I don’t get hit. I want to get back to knocking people out and I plan on doing that against Jean Pascal.
Your original opponent looked to be Joe Smith Jr. and he briefly had a fight scheduled against Artur Beterbiev. Then you got put in against Jean Pascal. When you were presented with Pascal, what were your initial thoughts?
I thought Pascal has more experience, a former world champion of the division and one of the first fighters you think of when you bring up this division. Jean Pascal is a real warrior and a real opponent. I cannot wait to get inside the ring with him. It will be a good test.
Been reading a lot of articles about you saying how much this fight means to you because you’re going to be headlining the second-to-last card on HBO. Why does it mean so much to you?
The show means I’m on the right way in my career because I’m in the main event. It shows that people are starting to have faith in me and I’m ready for the responsibility. HBO gave me a chance when I was starting to build my name. I’m sad they are leaving the boxing business, but I do appreciate this final chance to be in the main event. And who knows ... maybe one day I will be in the main event for them again on this legendary network.
What are some of your favorite fights that you have seen on HBO?
Some of my favorites on HBO involved many of Roy Jones Jr. fights, "Sugar" Ray Leonard. Those are my favorite fighters of all time. The best guys fought on HBO. Things are going to change, though. It’s normal. It is part of life.
When we last talked in August, there was a lot of talk of you fighting Sergey Kovalev if the both of you won your fights in a title unification fight. You did your job and Sergey came up a bit short in the main event. What did you make of Eleider Alvarez beating Kovalev?
First of all, it shows that anything can happen in boxing. Alvarez is a hard puncher, which always gave him a chance. I was shocked to see Kovalev lose a fight like that because he was winning. I thought he was going to win. Of course, anything can happen. But unfortunately, Sergey Kovalev lost.
I know you want to unify the titles. You got Adonis Stevenson, yourself and Beterbiev. If you get by Pascal, is 2019 the year you become the undisputed light heavyweight champion?
It’s going to be hard to do that in one year because of how things go in boxing. I’m very hopeful to get either Steveson or Beterbiev in the ring in 2019 for a title unification.
Which fight means more to you have first: Beterbiev or Stevenson?
It would mean more to face Artur first, even though Stevenson has held the WBC title for a long time. Artur would be an easier fight to make, as Stevenson hasn’t been wanting to take big fights.
Do you feel that if you beat Pascal, then you will be the guy leading the new charge in the division?
I believe that right now I’m almost there. I do have a hard test coming up with Jean Pascal. If I get through him then I believe that I will face the other champions and that will show that I’m the best guy.
https://uk.sports.yahoo.com/news/sn-...164605764.html
It really is a waste of time trying to intimidate these dudes from East Europe, they just don't get what a punchup at a press conference is all about. Bivol put his hands in his pockets as Pascal stuck his head in his face. Brilliant.
Pascal is not a HOFamer but he always made for good fights, going back to the cracking punchup with Froch (10 years ago, blimey)
I’ll be rooting for Pascal. Big underdog.
Israil Madrimov takes on a tough opponent in his pro debut, and wins by TKO. I have a new fighter to follow. :)
Here's a legal Russian stream for tonight's event: http://fanat.tv/channels/1-match-boets
(never post a link to a HBO or BoxNation stream, or it will get this site in trouble)