These fights were free!! Imagine todays PPV buys!!

Before PPV, Internet streams, HBO/Showtime doing regular fight cards, ESPN etc...There was ABC's Wide World Of Sports.

.It had the fights that would make PPV sales go into the double digits in the millions today..for FREE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yvkT2uMnIY
The opening theme

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_WrWWQ9_FY
A few highlights of just the regular fights...Hagler, Arguello, Duran all defending their titles on regular TV...Even an early Tyson just as PPV started off

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IaCyDWnQr8k
Duran defends his title

They had fights over their time such as

Ali Vs Norton, Foster, Frazier 2+3, Foreman, Wepner, Bunger, Spinks 1+2, Patterson, Chuvalo, Liston 2, Cooper, Willaims, Quarry

Forman Vs Frazier, Norton, ...Duran Vs DeJesus...Frazier Vs Quarry,

Leonard- His debut, Vs Hagler, Hearns, Duran,

Arguello Vs Escalera...Limon Vs Chacon...Sanchez Vs Gomez...Mark Breland made his debut.... McGuigan defended his title...Holyfield Vs Qwai..Hagler Vs Mugabi...Bowe Vs Briggs....Castillo won a LW title there in a special edition vs Stevie Johnston....

Sadly enough....Promoters realized how much money could be made charging for these fights and PPV reigned in.....Along w pay cable stations like HBO, Showtime etc....

Can you imagine what Leonard Vs Hagler or Hearns would do in PPV numbers today :o

These fights will be more remembered more because they were watched by a wider audience. Conversely can you imagine how big ODH, Tito, Cotto and Pac man would be on free TV.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Master

These fights will be more remembered more because they were watched by a wider audience. Conversely can you imagine how big ODH, Tito, Cotto and Pac man would be on free TV.

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It's more of the performance than anything that is remembered not by how big the audience is.

Ali-Frazier 3 was on HBO and so was Ali-Foreman, Foreman-Frazier, Hagler-Hearns, Arguello-Pryor, etc.

I really don't mind it being on PPV, since many of the boxers are taking considerable risk and deserve to get what they can get, if it means more money for them, then good for them.