What has been chatter in the wind for a while now has finally come yesterday. Paramount Global is shutting down Showtime sports effective 2024 and with it goes the storied and constant programming that was Showtime boxing for the last 37 years! This temporarily puts PBC and Al Haymon adrift and more importantly hundreds of employees out of work and fighters without a big stage to perform on. Talks are apparently underway with different platforms in hopes of a new deal for Pbc events from Paramount+ to Amazon to even Dazn. The last one I cannot see happening.

Simply put, this sucks. Many of us remember when HBO remained on its stool and opted out of the boxing in 2018 and like then, this doesn't come as a shock. Showing my age but that loss left a void that has yet to be filled. The weekly/monthly consistency and the actual building od careers and BIG fights. Still though as a fan first who has never rooted myself in the backroom dealings, the politics of this promoter vs that promoter or the cult of personality drama that has slowly crept into the sport thanks in part to 24/7 social media and twatter flame wars...this is not good for boxing. Not at all. Yet there are so many celebrating "vindication" as it pertains to Haymon and his business model or lack thereof. Been saying it for years but with the constant ppvs it felt like there was no actual long term investment in the future. Everything needed to be a going out of business sale, huge cash grab up front and happen in the instant. Losing a major platform is no grave to dance on and it all boils down to one less 'ring' to launch a next generation of boxers from. So goes technology so goes the sport. It's going to be interesting to see where and when the pbc guys land. Thanks for the vault of great memories and fights Showtime .