Quote Originally Posted by Rican
Quote Originally Posted by Bilbo
I hope to God they don't pruduce more than one or two shows a year. The whole reason these shows are special is that they mark a unique superfight. If every remotely big fight gets a show then it will just become meaningless.

they will and should reserve it for the truly prestigious events in the sport.
This is a great point and I agree with you, but the problem is that what determines a "unique superfight" is subject to debate and perspective. For example, a Mayorga-Vargas fight might not be considered a "unique superfight" because they may be perceived as two washed up guys going at it, but maybe not in the eyes of Latin American boxing fans. Also, the personalities and personal stories of both would call for a 24/7 focus on both. Tito has a large fan base and always had huge pay per view numbers and Jones is an all time great. Though these two can be considered past their primes, their legacies may warrant a 24/7 focus. To reiterate my main point, it is tough to decide what is a true "unique superfight," but the show does promote boxing and fan interest. HBO should really develop an organized plan for this show for the benefit of boxing and its fans.
You have to remember that HBO is a broadcast network and ultimately what constitutes a 'superfight' for them will be the fights that will generate them the most PPV buys.

I can't remember for certain but I'm sure Vargas Mayorga was a Top Rank production and not even on HBO so obviously that wouldn't qualify.

I think the limit of the superfights will be very tight. HBO know all too well that they don't want to spoil it by making it a common occurance. My guess is that the only fight that could conceivably be made right now that would get the full 24/7 treatment would be Mayweather Cotto.

You have to remember that the De La Hoya Mayweather was the biggest PPV event of all time and so certainly qualifed as a superfight. Mayweather Hatton I believe was the biggest PPV event ever that didn't involve Mike Tyson, Lennox Lewis or Oscar De La Hoya so again another true superfight.

There are no other events Cotto Mayweather aside that could conceivably come close to matching those numbers so I'd say right there that that's your 'superfight' definition.

The only possible fight I can think of this coming year that could merit such a show is the Pavlik Taylor rematch. It's for boxing's second most prestigious title historically, i.e to be the universally recognised middleweight champ. The first fight was voted Fight of the Year, and it features not only two Americans but also a white American. Not that this should have anything to do with race but when was the last time America had a white pure American superstar? Oscar is part Mexican and count's South America as much as North America as his home and fanbase but Pavlik is a pure American star, and he's white and happens to be a huge puncher as well.

His marketability could be phenomenal and a 24/7 show based on this fight would be a good choice.

But I have no idea what kind of numbers this fight will do and I'm sure HBO decision will be based on estimated PPV buys. I doubt the rematch will top 600,000 buys and that may not be a 'superfight' by HBO's definition.